


Tournament of Magic

by Squippy420



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Aithusas so goddamn cute you guys, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Dragons, Knights know about Merlins magic, Lancelots alive because I said so, M/M, Tournaments, Uthers alive so they still need to keep it a secret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 104,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25109470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squippy420/pseuds/Squippy420
Summary: There's a tournament underway! King Deslin of Rivkah has invited Prince Arthur of Camelot to a tournament, where they hope to form an alliance in the war against magic. With his father still alive, Arthur has no choice but to go, dragging his useless servant with magical powers along. The knights are eager to impress, but Merlin suspects that there's an ulterior motive to this tournament. As usual Arthur is oblivious to everything, leaving it up to Merlin to figure out what's going on before someone gets hurt. Or worse.
Relationships: Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 133
Kudos: 461





	1. A journey full of questions

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Merlin frowned at the prince riding beside him, who was staring straight ahead with a smug smile on his face.

"You never do listen, do you Merlin?" Arthur rolled his eyes, "Deslin is a king who is renowned because of his powerful army. His skills are legendary in these parts, having him as ally would benefit Camelot and ensure our people's safety, and at the end of the day that's all that counts."

Merlin sighed. He hated to admit it, but he was able to see where his prince was coming from, "It's just that all our plans seem to go awry sooner or later, that's all," Merlin defended, "Haven't you heard the rumours surrounding him? Defeating dragons during the purge? Taking bandits on single-handedly? He sounds dangerous."

Arthur laughed, "Merlin, after what you've told me, I'm sure you're more than capable of taking care of yourself, despite what other people might believe. Besides, going around calling kings dangerous would be more of a compliment to them. A king needs to be threatening, it's hardly a surprise that he sounds dangerous."

Merlin felt a smile tug at his lips, "Are kings often seen as threats?"

Arthur cast a suspicious glance at him, "Of course. Kings need to appear threatening in order to protect their people."

Merlin shrugged, "So kings don't usually get trapped in their bedsheets, do they?"

Arthur sighed, "Merlin-"

"Or have their pants fall down during court?"

"That was your fault-"

"Trip into cow dung?"

"Also your fault-"

"Or have donkey ears-"

"Merlin!" Arthur scolded, casting a self-conscious glance back to see if the knights had heard. Merlin laughed openly at this, the teasing improving his mood a little. Although after a while of riding in content silence, his frown returned, "I just don't like the sound of him, that's all."

Arthur scoffed, "Another of your funny feelings then?"

Merlin scowled, "If his army is just as powerful as people say it is, then what's to stop him from attacking Camelot? How do you know he won't try and attack us if we anger him?"

"If you're worried about angering him, you're just going to have to keep your mouth shut, aren't you?" Arthur smirked, "And that, if you had been listening, Merlin, is why the knights and I are taking part in the tournament. To gain his trust."

Merlin couldn't help a fond smile as he cast a glance back at the knights, who were debating whether another of Gwaine's tavern tales was true or not, "But what if you get hurt?"

Arthur allowed Merlin to see a small smile, but it was gone as soon as Merlin blinked, "If you would stop being such a girl for one second, Merlin, you'd realize that being hurt is all part and parcel of a tournament." He then looked at Merlin slyly, a mischievous glint in his eye, "Besides, if worse come to worse, I'm sure one of your tricks will help lighten the mood?"

Merlin stiffened, then immediately cursed himself for automatically looking back to see if any of the knights had heard, reminding himself that it wasn't necessary anymore. Only Lancelot sensed his mistakened alarm, and he replied with a small smile. Returning the gesture, Merlin turned back to Arthur, who had raised an eyebrow at Merlin's reaction. Merlin winced.

"Sorry," He apologised, "Bad habit." Arthur nodded in understanding.

Merlin continued, "But Rivkah have sorcery outlawed as well, and if King Deslin is as eagle-eyed as people say he is, then it's likely that he's just about as merciless as Uther."

Arthur tensed just as Merlin had done, forcing the images of his broken, distant father out of his mind. The playfulness in his eyes was gone now, and he turned to Merlin with nothing but sincerity, "Then you're just going to have to be careful, aren't you?"

It wasn't a question.

A tense silence filled the space between the two of them, the faint laughter and jeers from the knights echoing behind them, mixing well with the jovial tweets from the birds who were perched high in the trees, looking inquisitively down at the unfamiliar colours that the knights donned. They chirped in greeting, though what with the knights laughter, only Merlin seemed to hear them. He looked up, smiling, watching the birds flit from one home to another with their families. His smile fell slightly as he wondered what it was like to be a bird, to not have to worry about unfamiliar soil.

He bit his lip, knowing that, once again, Arthur could not be persuaded. He snapped out of his thoughts when Arthur turned in his direction, "Just relax, Merlin. It's not like King Deslin would be cruel enough to let anyone die during his tournament, it would ruin his reputation."

As Arthur sped away to survey the path ahead, Merlin could already feel a pit of dread creeping over him, leaving him wishing that what Arthur had said would be true. Even with Arthur having known his secret for months now, it seemed to be all he could do to just hope that it would be enough to protect Arthur from whatever trouble the regent prince would manage to attract this time.

Whilst Arthur rode ahead, Merlin ordered his horse to slow down a bit so that he could fall in line with the knights, who were once again being entertained with Gwaine's theatrical, drunken retellings.

"You did not fight a bear." Elyan laughed, slapping his friend's arm.

"Did too, got the scar and all!" Gwaine smirked, easing his armour down a bit so that the knights could see a flash of red scraping it's way down Gwaine's shoulder.

"That's not a bear claw!" Leon exclaimed, unable to stop himself from smiling.

"Who's it really from Gwaine?" Percival smiled, "A bandit?"

"A boar?" Lancelot joined in.

"A knight?"

"A bartender?"

"You're all wrong," Merlin smirked, "It's from the unfortunate woman who got the butt end of Gwaine's flirting that night."

They all laughed, including Gwaine, who slapped his friends' shoulder.

"You got me!" He laughed at Merlin, "Poor woman didn't know what she was missing out on."

"I'm sure she'll live." Merlin snickered, earning more chuckles from the knights.

"I suppose." Gwaine sighed, not one to linger, "I'm sure there'll be plenty to catch my eye in Rivkah."

"You mean plenty to impress with your oh-so refined swordmanship." Percival rolled his eyes, grinning.

"Easy, big man! I may not have the fanciest footwork, but at least the women won't get intimidated by my lumbering tree-trunk arms!"

"Perhaps they'll mistake your hair for a birds nest and avoid you like the plague-"

"Oi! My hair will have the ladies besotted when I effortlessly sidestep the opponents!"

"Sidestep? More like stagger!"

The squabble fell into laughter as the knights chuckled around them. Merlin shook his head, his worries forgotten as he looked at the knights in admiration, wondering not for the first time how they kept smiles on their faces, even with all the unanswered questions lurking in their futures.

"How far are you planning on going in this tournament then?" Merlin asked the others after their laughter had died down. Elyan smirked.

"As far as I can, of course!" He announced proudly, "I have to get some good news back to my sister!"

"Perhaps she'll be getting good news from both of us, my friend." Lancelot smiled warmly at him. Elyan nodded, his grin growing wider. Merlin smiled at the gesture. Elyan had been suspicious of Lancelot when he had asked him if it was alright to court his sister, since Elyan was unaware what his intentions with her were. However, it had become obvious to all off them that Lancelot and Guinevere were obsessed with each other, and Elyan and Lancelot had grown all the more closer because of it.

"Then there's Arthur to worry about," Leon murmured, "He'll be a challenge to beat, no doubt about it."

"Princess? Like taking candy from a baby!" Gwaine boasted, once again letting his mouth run off, "Just stick Merlin in front of him and he'll be so preoccupied that he won't notice us sneaking up on him!" 

Merlin blushed at that, shoving Gwaine a little harder than intended. What with laughing at Merlin's reaction, Gwaine very nearly fell of his horse, which only made him laugh more. The knights joined in, teasing Merlin for his reaction, which only made him blush harder.

"Quiet!" Merlin hissed, wary that Arthur had been gone for a while and would be coming back soon, "You all know nothing can come of it!" Gwaine's laughter stopped at this, "Oh come on, Merlin. It's obvious. The only one dumb enough not to see it is him."

"Don't you think I know that?" Merlin smiled briefly at the encouragement, "It's just a silly crush, it'll pass."

"I don't believe that for a second." Elyan joined in, "Arthur looks at you all the damn time, even when he isn't aware he's doing it. He'll have to see it sooner or later."

Merlin shook his head, "It's not that. What with filling in as regent, worrying about his father, and taking part in this tournament, Arthur's got enough on his plate to worry about. He doesn't need some silly farmer-boy crush from his own servant to deal with as well."

"We all know it's more than that," Lancelot directed his horse to Merlin's right side, 

"Arthur just doesn't see it yet." His smile softened, "You'll get your happy ending soon, my friend. I for one can tell you they're worth waiting for."

Merlin thanked him with a small nod before the knights allowed him to retreat back into his thoughts. He remembered how relieved he was when Arthur had told him that he didn't care about his magic. He remembered the soaring euphoria that had washed over him at the idea of never having to worry about keeping secrets from him ever again. The feeling had grown immensely when the same went for the knights and Gwen. Of course, with Uther still around, it had to be kept a secret from everyone else, but the fact that Merlin could be himself around them delighted them greatly after learning how long he had suffered. It had taken a while for Merlin to explain the truth about magic, but they had all eventually come to see sense, and they were all better friends because of it.

Then, when Merlin was certain he finally had nothing to worry about, he suddenly caught himself blushing at the prince's smirks and letting his thoughts run away with him whenever Arthur was training. Within a few weeks, it had dawned on him that his relief in Arthur's acceptance of him had become a catalyst into developing a stupid crush, and, not wanting a repeat of his magic, he had told the knights immediately before he could persuade himself it was a bad idea. Now, all the knights were in on some silly, ridiculous crush that would hopefully fade. Though, whilst Merlin was thankful that he no longer had a secret he had to keep to himself, he was frustrated that he had yet another secret to keep from Arthur.

"We should be arriving at King Deslin's castle soon." Arthur announced, riding up to them, "Around half a days ride."

"That's a relief," Elyan sighed, "What I wouldn't give for a bed."

The knights made several sounds of agreement. The week-long ride had been one that the knight's weren't used to, as they had only ever ridden to neighbouring kingdoms before.

"Not so fast, Elyan," Arthur smiled, "Remember we have to greet King Deslin before we can rest. Fortunately we'll be arriving a few hours before sunset, so you won't have to wait very long."

"I wonder what he's like?" Leon wondered, almost to himself, "I know he shares similar views to your father, but we haven't ever discussed the terms of alliance before, so why now?"

Arthur shrugged, "My father has told me of his kingdom several times before, but he was always eager to change the subject." Arthur grew silent, collecting his thoughts, "I think he's asking us to seek an alliance now because... my father knows that he isn't as strong as before."

"So why are we seeking an alliance with someone who's outlawed sorcery?" Gwaine asked, failing to notice the grim silence, "After your father dies, aren't you going to - ah."

Gwaine immediately shut up, noticing both Merlin and Arthur tense, "Sorry." He winced.

Arthur bit his lip, "If we don't obey my father's orders then he'll grow suspicious," he spoke, " Plus, if we do get an alliance from King Deslin and once my father does... pass, I was hoping that we'd be able to convince him that sorcery can be used for good."

"But that could be dangerous!" Merlin warned, "What if you start a war, Arthur?"

"If I do, then I'll most likely be breaking off terms with Mercia and Essex as well, and King Deslin won't be any different," Arthur sighed, pushing a hand through his hair, "We're just going to have to make them all see that sorcery can be used for good."

Merlin tried to smile, but he could feel it faltering as guilt squirmed in his stomach. All this for him. What if it didn't work? What if the leaders of the other kingdoms were just as stubborn as Uther? What if-

"Merlin." Arthur snapped, "Whatever you're thinking, stop it now. That's an order." 

Merlin flinched. After the past few months off nothing left to hide from Arthur, it was almost scary how well he could tell what Merlin was thinking.

Arthur smirked, "You can't hide anything from me, Merlin. Not anymore."

Behind them, Merlin could hear Gwaine snickering, but a sharp glance told him to shut up immediately.

"Besides," Gwaine drawled instead, "Doesn't matter if an army attacks us, aren't you supposed to be this super powerful sorcerer? Damn, what did the Druids say you were called? Emirick? Emerin?"

"Emrys." Merlin huffed, despite knowing Gwaine was messing with him, "And don't expect me to wipe out an entire army for you, Arthur gives me enough chores already."

"Merlin's right," Arthur nodded sternly, "No matter how powerful Merlin says he is, it'll do no good for a knight of Camelot to go depending on him." 

Merlin felt his cheeks go red. He still wasn't used to be acknowledged for his talents, but he was delighted that magic being welcomed back to Camelot was finally a possibility. 

The group fell into a content silence, Arthur keeping a wary eye on the path, the knights looking out for any bandits, and Merlin occasionally using magic to see if he could spot anyone camouflaged between the trees that could be a threat to Arthur.

Eventually, Merlin watched as the dirt path of the forest slowly melded into the stone path of the city. As the trees opened up, places for bandits to hide started to dwindle, causing Merlin to relax slightly and take in the sights of the unfamiliar kingdom. Rounded buildings lined the dirty streets, and citizens with tattered clothing waved at them as they passed by, wishing them luck at the upcoming tournament. Arthur, after years of courtly training, found it hard to resist returning their waves, a calm and trained smile upon his face. The same couldn't be said for the Gwaine, however, who was laughing and cheering just as loudly as the crowd below them. His energy contagious, his fellow knights found themselves doing the same. Merlin, since he knew that the citizens weren't focused on him, allowed himself to return to sights of the city, admiring the colourful banners that had been strung up above.

"Who needs to worry about sorcery and wars and alliances?" Gwaine laughed, "This is going to be fun!"

"Please! If you celebrate as hard as you usually do before a tournament, you'll be out in the first round." Elyan teased.

"Ah, the fight's even better if the world is spinning with you!" Gwaine laughed, "Makes it more of a challenge!"

"It'll be your downfall if you get paired up with me!" Lancelot warned. 

Leon nodded, "You'd better be careful, I doubt the knights of this kingdom aren going to see this as fun and games."

Merlin swallowed, his worry causing him to look down at his horse's mane. These knights were rumoured to be just as powerful, if not more so, than the knights of Camelot. What if there was a hidden agenda? An ulterior motive? What if someone found out-

"Merlin," Arthur sighed, "You're doing it again. I thought I'd already told you to stop it."

"Yes, Sire." Merlin nodded. In an attempt to force all doubts from his mind, he once again tuned in to the sights of the city.

After several more minutes of greeting passing peasants, Prince Arthur, his clumsy servant and the knights of Camelot arrived at the citadel, where they saw an arrangement of knights on the castle steps, not unlike the one they used in Camelot.

Merlin took in the sight with veneration, a feeling of childish wonder and excitement overcoming him that was incredibly similar to the one he felt when he had first stepped into the bustling city in Camelot. However, the feeling came to an abrupt halt when he had a closer look at the knights.

They were standing bolt upright, identical expressions of cold, calculated respect on their faces. their chainmail had been thoroughly polished, not at all like the slightly dented armour of the Camelot knights. Their vibrant blue capes swayed behind them in the wind, not a speck of dirt on them. Merlin wasn't bothered by this as he had seen the formation thousands of times before when visiting other kingdoms. What unsettled him were the iron collars that were on their necks, a strange, red stone that Merlin wasn't able to identify embedded in their centres, glinting ominously in the golden sun. He spared a glance at them with caution, knowing that if they were any kind of threat, King Deslin would notice him staring and become suspicious. Instead, he quickly gave the impression of an obedient servant by looking downwards, making a note to bring them up with Arthur later once they were in his chambers.

Arthur hadn't noticed how ridiculously polished their armour was, or the iron around their necks. His stare was instead on the centre of the formation, where a figure loomed over the rest of them at the top of the steps.

"Ah, Prince Arthur!" King Deslin boomed, "Welcome to Rivkah!"


	2. An arrival full of theories

"King Deslin," Arthur greeted with equal enthusiasm, "It's an honour to meet you!"

As King Deslin sauntered down the steps, Prince Arthur hopped off his horse. Whilst doing so, servants that had been lined up at the bottom of the steps scuttled around, picking up the knights' bags and bedrolls of their horses. When Merlin heard them muttering "thank you" and "let me," he couldn't help the sensation of pride blooming in his chest when he saw the Rivkah servants walking past with faint smiles on their faces.

But then he saw them.

The servants of Rivkah looked roughly the same as the servants in Camelot: scruffy clothes, covered in dirt and quiet, not daring to meet the eyes of a noble. They looked like any ordinary group of servants, but what caused Merlin's gnawing sense of unease to come back were the iron collars that were wrapped around their necks, the very same to the ones being worn by the knights.

Merlin's frown deepened as he undid the straps that attached Arthur's bedroll to his horse. When he occasionally glanced upwards, he could see the two talking about something or other, most likely the feast that would be happening tomorrow to welcome Camelot, once they were all well-rested. When King Deslin glanced in his direction, Merlin's eyes shot down as he urged the straps undone, but not before he noticed that there wasn't any sign of a collar on King Deslin's neck.

"I see you've only brought one servant!" King Deslin announced his arrival. With dread, Merlin realised that the statement was an address in disguise, and so he quickly adopted the stance of a servant: feet apart, hands behind back and eyes down. Merlin felt Arthur's hand on his shoulder, praise for having done the right thing.

"Yes, we only saw the need to bring one. There were only six of us, and we all consider him a dear friend." Merlin couldn't help but smile at that, but it quickly disappeared when he heard King Deslin hum in thought.

"Is that so?" Merlin couldn't help a small gasp of alarm as he was grasped roughly by the chin and inspected.

If the iron collars and the unanswered questions weren't enough to scare Merlin, King Deslin sure was. The mouth that was curled tightly into a frown was framed by a black beard, which was the same colour as the long hair that slithered down his neck and hung around his shoulders. His eyebrows were almost as bushy as his beard, the coarse hair making it seem like the eyebrows were arched, the angry demeanour hinting towards a temper that Merlin didn't dare think of testing. Instead, he continued to look down, certain that he would be sentenced to death if he were to so much as challenge the steely gaze of the man before him.

"He must be quite efficient if he's able to manage six of you." Merlin heard a small choking sound which Arthur disguised as a cough, and he was sure that Arthur was biting back a laugh.

"Not exactly, but he's good company and has a loyal heart. He's a fine servant." Merlin could hear Arthur respond as King Deslin continued to examine him by moving his face side to side.

"The man barely has any muscle on him," King Deslin muttered to himself, "Tell me, is he fast?"

Arthur frowned, "Fast?"

King Deslin didn't bother to explain the question, "Yes."

"Not really."

"I see. Agile?"

"No."

"Easily scared?"

"No." Arthur shook his head, and Merlin was delighted at the small hint of pride that he heard in his prince's voice.

King Deslin returned his gaze to Merlin once more, a faint smile on his lips, as if he took delight in Merlin and Arthur being confused by his strange bombardment of questions. Merlin stiffened. He didn't like it when people knew he was confused. 

"He's not efficient, not fast, not agile," King Deslin muttered to himself, "Tell me, is there anything your servant can do?"

Arthur frowned, looking up in thought. Finally, he looked as King Deslin with an answer, "He's good at juggling."

Merlin flinched at the sudden boom of laughter that echoed around the square. Arthur smiled at the laugh, glad of the approval he was getting. He hoped his father would be proud.

"Well, unfortunately for your little servant here, we already have entertainment booked for tomorrow's feast." King Deslin chuckled, "Let's leave him to it, Arthur, allow me to show you my home!"

Arthur didn't follow immedaitely, but instead chose to stay by Merlin, who was massaging his chin, which had turned red in Deslin's grip.

"Such a shame," Arthur grinned, "It seems you won't be able to grace us with your juggling this evening."

"Prat." Merlin scoffed, continuing to massage his jaw, "What do you think he meant by all those questions? When have servants ever needed to be fast?"

Arthur's smile disappeared, "I'm not sure. It's best that you stay out of his way from now on. If he were to find out what you were really good at, then he would have you killed."

Merlin nodded, but stayed silent, Arthur cast a glance over Merlin's shoulder.

"He's talking to one of his servants," Arthur explained, "I'd better go talk to him."

With only a curt nod as a goodbye, Arthur left his side, leaving Merlin to wonder just what was going on.

After the servants had gathered up the knights belongings, they were all led into the castle, the horses being left outside to be handled by the stable boys. Merlin stuck close to Arthur, falling into place two steps behind him. He heard the knights laughing and teasing each other behind him, but tried not to feel too disappointed about not being able to join them. Instead, he focused on Arthur and Deslin's conversation, wondering if he could learn anything else about the kingdom.

"So, what's to be expected of us in this tournament?" He had heard Arthur say. For the past week, Arthur had been pressured by his father to read about tournaments and the etiquette that would have to be expected of them in other kingdoms. Camelot was famous for holding tournaments that focused on jousting and swordplay, but, after reading several of the texts over Arthur's shoulder, Merlin knew that other kingdoms had different ideas off entertainment when it came to fighting. Unfortunately for them, the texts had nothing about the history of tournaments in Rivkah, so they had no idea what was in store, yet another fact that set Merlin on edge.

King Deslin laughed at this, "Oh, but my friend, it would hardly be any fun if it wasn't a surprise!" Merlin examined him, almost certain that he was hiding something, after all, they usually all were, "All you need to know is that there will be a preliminary round a week from today, and everything about it will be discussed at the feast tomorrow."

Arthur nodded, the two walking into the throne room, where the king's court were watching with bated breath. Merlin stepped to the side into the rudimentary servant position whilst the knights all crowded into the centre to join Arthur. King Deslin walked ahead of them and perched himself on the singular throne.

"Prince Arthur of Camelot," King Deslin announced for all his court to hear, "It is my utmost honour to welcome you to my kingdom. For now, I will allow you all to retreat into your chambers and rest after your weary travels. For you, Arthur, the guest chambers and the servants quarters that are attached have been prepared for you and your manservant. As for your knights, the servants have prepared several rooms in the barracks for them. I hope that they are all to your satisfaction. Tomorrow, it would please me greatly if you would join me on a tour of the training grounds, where you can see first hand the power of the Rivkan army, followed by a feast where the rules for the preliminary round of the tournament will be set. But for now, I will have servants guide you all to your rooms. You're dismissed."

As soon as the words left his mouth, murmurs rose around the room, the court that had been examining them like hawks now murmuring to each other in ushered whispers. Merlin chanced a look around, and could see that the ladies of the court were gossiping excitedly, the eyes occasionally flitting to Arthur. Ignoring the pang in his chest, he approached his prince to see him with the servant who had approached him. It was with unease that Merlin noticed he had an iron collar around his neck.

"Please, come this way, Prince Arthur. I will show you to your chambers." The servant said, not once daring to look up at the Prince. When he walked away, Arthur and Merlin looked followed, Merlin quickly looking behind his shoulder to wave his friends goodbye. Gwaine caught the wave and responded with a lazy grin. Glad that he wasn't alone, Merlin left the throne room to catch up with his prince. 

The chambers were incredibly big, though that hardly came as a surprise to Arthur. Even Merlin, who had marvelled at the sights of Camelot when he had first arrived, barely blinked at the size of the room. Instead he immediately got to work in hauling Arthur's bags onto the table, opening them and unpacking his clothes, keeping an ear open to what the servant had to say.

"These will be your chambers for the remainder of your stay," the servant explained, his posture as stiff as a statue, "King Deslin will have a meal sent up soon and at breakfast, and hopes that you will enjoy both. A servant will be sent after breakfast to pick you and your servant up and lead you both to the training grounds. Please enjoy your stay." 

With that, he hurried out of the room, and Merlin turned his attention on hanging up all of Arthur's clothes. Arthur himself had flopped onto his bed with a heavy sigh.

"I'm sore from all that riding." Arthur groaned into the pillow, "Merlin, after you're done packing go down to the kitchens and draw me a bath."

Merlin rolled his eyes, "Yes, sire."

"And do it quickly, I ache all over."

"And are Kings supposed to be as annoying as they are threatening, Sire?" Merlin called from the wardrobe. At first, he had decided in taking care with hanging the clothes up. Now, what with Arthur being a prat, he had now settled with folding the clothes and tossing them in.

"They're allowed to be annoying when their servant is being equally so." Arthur muttered.

"I'm sorry, Sire, I was just trying to be good company," Merlin said innocently, unable to stop his smile from growing.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Merlin-"

"With a loyal heart."

"Shut up-"

"I'd say I was quite a fine servant, wouldn't you?"

"I'll have you know I regretted those words as soon as they left my mouth." Arthur retorted, but Merlin didn't believe it for one second, "We have to impress the king, I couldn't make you sound entirely useless."

Merlin opened his mouth, a witty response on the tip of his tongue, when he frowned, "Why did he ask us all those questions?"

"Merlin-"

"I'm serious, Arthur!" Merlin sighed, closing the wardrobe door, "I think he's up to something."

"That's what you always think-"

"Because that's what always happens! Some random stranger walks into court completely unannounced, charms their way into your heart and I'm left by myself, desperately trying to protect you while you go off getting yourself killed!" Merlin snapped, quickly realising after the words had left his mouth that he had said the wrong thing. Usually when Merlin said the wrong thing, Arthur's glare would steel over before shouting at him. Now, Arthur simply stared at him, refusing to give anything away.

"Arthur?" Merlin spoke because he hated the silence, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I just-"

"No," Arthur interrupted, "Unfortunately, Merlin, I still don't know everything that's going on in my castle, but whenever I have a question, you always seem to have the answer."

Merlin simply stared at him, allowing him to piece his thoughts together.

"Whenever you thought that there was something going on in Camelot, you were always right, even if I myself only knew one side of the story."

Merlin froze, staring at him incredulously. Could he actually-?

"So, for once, Merlin, I'm going to assume you're right. Perhaps things aren't as they seem." Arthur concluded.

"Really?" Merlin's eyes narrowed, not daring to believe it, "You're actually listening to me?"

"Don't get used to it, you're an idiot nine times out of ten, even with your talents." Arthur muttered, making Merlin's smile return, "Just don't make me regret it, alright? The last thing I need if for father to be embarrassed by us wrongly accusing King Deslin of something."

"Right. Off course." Merlin nodded, still bewildered by the fact Arthur was actually listening after years of just brushing him aside.

"So, go on then," Arthur encouraged, "What's sparked up that funny feeling of yours?"

"Their iron collars," Merlin started, "Namely the stones inside them. At first I thought that they were part of the knights uniform, but then I saw the servants wearing them too." 

Arthur bit his lip, "And? You think they could mean something?"

"I'm not sure yet." Merlin faltered, but perked up again when another question came to mind, "Also, I noticed how polished the knights armour looked. If these knights are powerful, if they fight as often as they're rumoured to, then why isn't their armour dented? Why does it look brand new?"

Arthur shrugged, "Perhaps they wanted to make an impression?"

Merlin didn't answer, "And what about the servants? I saw their hands while they were unstrapping the knights' bags. They looked so smooth, not like the hard, calloused hands of a normal servant."

Merlin paused, watching Arthur carefully. He was frowning, "Well, it's hardly incriminating evidence, Merlin."

"But it's enough to think that something... strange is going on, don't you think?" Merlin eagerly stated, not used to discussing theories with Arthur.

"Sure, but... don't go getting to excited, I'm sure it's nothing." Arthur scolded, "If it were something threatening, then I'm sure Deslin wouldn't have them wearing the collars out in the open, I'm sure he'll tell us what they're for is we ask."

"What if he lies?" Merlin asked. Arthur looked at him in exasperation.

"Gods, Merlin, do you have to be paranoid about everything?"

"Yes!" Merlin exclaimed, "Because it could be you who gets hurt if I'm not!"

Arthur fell silent at this, his fingers stapled together as he stared ahead in thought, "Do you think a servant would have access to the library? Could you look up the stone there?"Merlin frowned, not entirely sure, "I don't know. Besides, if they really re dangerous, then he wouldn't exactly want me poking around. I wouldn't be surprised if he's destroyed the information entirely. But, if I suddenly do go to the library, he's bound to find it suspicious."

Arthur sighed, "Well, perhaps we shouldn't act just yet. If King Deslin wants a tournament, then he'll get a tournament, he's not going to harm me before the thing even starts." He reasoned, "It starts in a week, which means you've got a week to find out if those stones really mean anything."

Merlin bit his lip, racing through everything that Gaius had taught him, anything that he might have read in a book. What was that book where he had found the passage on the Eye of the Phoenix? A page about blood rubies, a page about using amethysts in spells...

Merlin shook his head, "You're right. I can't remember ever reading anything about them in Gaius' books, but-"

"Gaius?" Arthur perked up, "You think the collars might be some kind of sorcery?"

Merlin froze, realising the thought hadn't actually occurred to him until them, "I... suppose? But sorcery is outlawed, King Deslin would never allow it."

"Perhaps Deslin doesn't know they're sorcery, perhaps..." Arthur was getting just as excited as Merlin, his foot tapping against the floor in thought, "Perhaps he doesn't know that they're sorcery? Perhaps someone is enchanting the collars without him knowing?"

Merlin frowned, "But why would someone do that?"

Arthur shrugged, "I don't know, maybe-" He caught himself, realising just how excited he had become, "Merlin, we're being ridiculous. We're not going to get anywhere hypothesizing about some ridiculous fashion statement."

"But what if it's not?" Merlin continued, "What if-"

"Merlin," Arthur snapped, "I'm sure you and Gaius have plenty of fun spitballing your little ideas, but I have no interest in joining you in your little hobby. Now, as interested as you are in these collars, I will remind you once again that I am aching all over, and would like you to go down to the kitchens so that they can send up some servants with hot water."

Merlin deflated, "But what about-"

"Merlin, you're wasting my time," Arthur interrupted, getting of the bed, "I'm aware that you're only concerned for my safety, but you're being to paranoid. We've only been here for a few hours and that imagination of yours is already conjuring up wild theories. Even if there is something going on, it is of no use to us no to discuss. We will learn the truth about the collars tomorrow, now will you fetch me some hot water."

Merlin huffed at him, but knew better than to say anymore. Wandering into the servants chambers, he quickly found the tub that he was looking for propped up against the side. After carefully setting it into the centre of the prince's chambers, no help from Arthur of course, Merlin quickly went around fetching Arthur's night clothes from the wardrobe and setting them out on top of the screen. When he finally left Arthurs chambers to ask a servant for the way down to the kitchens, his mind was already busy with theories and suggestions on what the collards might have been for. Alone in his thoughts, he realised just how fun suggesting his ideas to Gaius had been, and how he had enjoyed working together to find the threat that had snuck it's way into Camelot. Merlin had hoped that it would be this way with Arthur, but to be able to get him on his side, he first needed to find out just what those collars were for.


	3. A tour full of information

Morning arrived far to quickly for Merlin's taste, but he managed to push himself out of bed before he could persuade himself to have a lie-in.

The servants quarters were extremely small, but Merlin didn't mind. The bed took the entirety of one wall, there was a wardrobe next to it were Merlin had placed a very small amount of clothes and the only source of light was a grimy window that quite high up. Below this was a desk, some parchment and some ink for writing.

Merlin had ignored these, failing to see a use to them, and got dressed, struggling a little in the dim light.

Finally, he walked out into Arthur's chambers to see the figure of Arthur snoring away on his bed. Grinning, Merlin raced over to the curtains and yanked them open.

"Rise and shine!"

Arthur let out a groan and dove back under the covers, pulling them over his head.

"Stop being such a child!" Merlin scolded, striding up to the bed.

"The sun isn't even up yet, you idiot." Came Arthur's muffled voice from under the covers, "Wake me when the sun's up."

"The sun is up, it's just dark for you because you've pulled the covers over your head." Merlin huffed, "Come on, get up!"

Arthur groaned again, pulling the covers down before Merlin could manhandle them down for him. He emerged with his blonde hair sticking up in random directions and his eyes bleary with sleep. He glowered at Merlin, unimpressed.

"Happy?"

"Very. Now come on, you have to get dressed, the servant will be here with your breakfast soon." Merlin explained, wondering off to get the prince's chainmail.

"I'm the prince, Merlin, I think you'll find it's me who gives the orders." Arthur drawled, his voice still heavy with sleep.

"I'm sure a few orders won't hurt when the prince is acting like a child." Merlin grunted under the weight of Arthur's armour, which he had thrown carelessly into a laundry hamper the previous night.

"I don't order you around when you're acting like a child." Arthur rubbed his eyes, "I just drag you along and put up with your whining."

"You order me around all the time," Merlin scoffed, "And I don't act like a child." Arthur raised his eyebrows.

"That time I beat you."

"I would've beat you if Gaius-"

"Your two consecutive visits to the stocks?"

"That was your fault because you let Sophia-"

"What about that time you fed me rat?"

"I didn't have a choice-"

"See? Complain about everything," Arthur said triumphantly, his case apparently rested, "Complete child."

Merlin opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by a curt knock at the door.

"That'll be the servant," Arthur figured, "You get breakfast ready, I'll get dressed."

"Get dressed? By yourself?" Merlin was preparing a few remarks, but Arthur's shooing motion towards the door convinced him to drop them. 

When he opened the door the same servant that had led them to their chambers yesterday was standing there, holding two plates.

"Your breakfasts." The servant held them out, expecting Merlin to take them.

"Oh." Merlin said. He took both plates, one of the plates was filled with bacon, eggs and sausages, whilst the other had a measly ham sandwich, "Thank you."

The servant bowed before turning to leave. With Arthur behind the screen and unable to stop him, Merlin pounced at the opportunity.

"By the way," Merlin piped up, "Do you mind telling me what your collars are for?"

Merlin heard a shuffle of movement behind the screen, but was too focused on the servant's reaction. He stiffened, a flash of fear in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

Merlin was about to prompt him again when Arthur appeared in the doorway, still shirtless, "Sorry about my servant." Arthur gave one of the most charming smiles he could muster, "Forgive him, he's an idiot."

The servant was about to reply when Arthur slammed the door in his face. Merlin opened his mouth indignantly but Arthur was to quick.

"What did I tell you about those collars, Merlin?"

"But you should have seen his reaction! He's scared, he's hiding something-"

"He's a servant, he's scared of everything." Arthur scolded, snatching the plates from him and marching towards the table. Merlin joined him and picked up the jug full of water that was already there.

"Could you ask him?" Merlin pleaded, pouring water into Arthur's goblet, "King Deslin? During the tour?"

"Merlin if it will shut you up for five minutes then fine!" Arthur snapped, demanding an end to the conversation. Merlin flinched at the harsh tone, but didn't answer. Instead, he poured himself a drink and ate his sandwich in silence. Arthur picked at his own breakfast, refusing to tell Merlin that he had regretted his tone the minute it came out of his mouth.

Long after Merlin had finished his sandwich, Arthur continued eating, casting occasional glances at his servant as discreetly as he could, biting down the warm smile that was creeping up on him as he heard his servant mutter to himself. He couldn't remember the first time he felt this certain way about his servant, but he supposed it didn't really matter, all that did was that it was there and that he didn't know what to do with it.

It had taken him months to place some sort of label on it, and even then it had been called a "vague feeling of admiration," which he wasn't completely sure about. Then, on an evening by the campfire, where Merlin had been the most vunerable that Arthur had ever seen him, the feeling came to a sharp halt when Arthur learned about Merlin's magic. Though, after weeks of being taught by Merlin what magic really was, he once again found his heart fluttering whenever Merlin cast a spell. After that, the strange, warm feeling came back full force, so much stronger than before that Arthur had to rethink what to call it. After renaming the feeling once every few weeks, Arthur had reluctantly, hesitantly, called the feeling, "a stupid crush," and he was now starting to realise that it was true.

He had no idea how it had happened, but it did. Somehow, someway, the feeling had snuck it's way into Arthur's heart and had gotten stronger with every one of Merlin's ridiculous smiles, every one of Merlin's horrendous jokes and with every one of Merlin's breath-taking spells. Arthur had panicked over the feeling long into the night, and had ultimately decided not to do anything. It wouldn't come to anything, so therefore it would eventually fade. Because of this, Arthur had sworn to do absolutely nothing with it.  
He watched as Merlin bent down to pick up his discarded breeches that Arthur had left there on purpose. Arthur adjusted himself slightly to get a better view. Well. Crush or not, it didn't mean he couldn't have a look.

Merlin straightened and folded the night clothing onto to bed which he had already made.

"Right. Are you ready to get changed into your armour?" Merlin asked, glancing dubiously at the food which Arthur had barely touched.

"Yes. Absolutely." Arthur stood, still distracted with thoughts about Merlin. Noticing his strage behaviour, Merlin frowned, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?"

Merlin hesitated, but then shrugged it off, going to fetch his armour, "You sure you're not feeling ill?"

"Merlin-"

"Headache maybe?"

"Like a headache could stop me-"

Merlin froze, armour in hand, staring at the plate of half-eaten food, "Are you on a diet?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Merlin-"

"Because now might not be the best time, you need to keep your strength up!"

"Honestly-"

"Though this could be the perfect opportunity to get some exercise…"

"I am not fat!"

"I have no idea what you mean, Sire, whatever gave you get that idea?" Merlin asked innocently, a mischievous glint in his eye. 

Arthur bit his lip, the warm, fuzzy feeling coming back in full force at the sight of the carefree smile. Begrudgingly, he let Merlin win, "Just get me dressed, will you?"

"Absolutely, Sire." Merlin grinned.

Merlin got to work in dressing Arthur in his chainmail. Arthur did his best to ignore the accidental touches that Merlin would give when pulling on the armour and the occasional brush of his fingers whenever he failed to tie the straps correctly and had to do them again. From previous servants, Arthur knew that it was possible and expected of a servant to be able to dress his master without making skin contact at all, but, thanks to this cursed feeling, Arthur no longer minded it, and wasn't completely sure that he had minded it in the first place. A proper servant was professional, unemotive and boring. Merlin, with his mistakes and his clumsiness and his foolishness was just... Merlin, and Arthur wouldn't have it any other way.

When he was done, Arthur gave a small smile in thanks as Merlin fetched his sword. With that, the two stepped out.

The knights were already waiting for them outside the castle. They were laughing about something when Merlin bounded up to them, Arthur close behind.

"Ah! Merlin!" Gwaine laughed, patting him on the shoulder, "We were just teasing Percival about how ridiculously big his hands are!"

"When are you not." Merlin could hear Percival grumble, but his smile showed fondness.

"So, place your bets, gentlemen," Gwaine announced, "Who's going to win?"

"Definitely Arthur." Elyan nodded. Arthur chuckled.

"I appreciate your faith, Elyan, but don't go making it to easy." He grinned, but the knights all knew from experience that he was serious. He hated it when anyone went easy on him.

"I reckon Percival could throw them out of the ring with his arms alone." Leon smiled, nudging his friend.

"I think Merlin would be able to win the whole thing with his hands behind his back if he were allowed to enter." Lancelot grinned.

"You think so? Percival's twice the size of me." Merlin asked.

"Doesn't matter when you've got spells up your sleeve, does it?" Gwaine grinned, "Good thing sorcery is outlawed, means we actually have a chance of winning."

"Hey!" Merlin scolded, swatting his friend's arm, "Doesn't stop me from being able to turn you into a frog."

"Think you could turn me into something handsome? Ferocious? Like a dragon?" Gwaine wondered, "Might actually have a chance of winning."

"You? Winning?" Percival snickered, "You'll be knocked out by the first round, and I'm not talking about your opponent!"

Gwaine gasped in mock offense, "Percival, you insult me! You really think alcohol could do me wrong?"

"It helps you make the wrong decisions, that's for sure." Elyan smirked. Gwaine pouted.

"Ah! Gentlemen!"

Gwaine's response was interrupted by King Deslin's arrival, collared servants flocking behind him.

King Deslin smiled, "I'm so glad you could join me. My knights are already on the training ground. Perhaps you would like to see?"

Arthur returned the chivalrous smile, "Yes, I'd be delighted. It wouldn't hurt to see what we're up against."

King Deslin laughed at this, "Off course. Though I was expecting you to bring more than 5 knights, I'm afraid you're going to be severely outnumbered..."

"Oh, that's quite alright," Arthur shook his head, a glint of warning in his eye, "You'd do well not to underestimate us."

"I'll take your word for it!" King Deslin grinned, "Come, it's this way..."

King Deslin led the way with Arthur by his side , the knights and Merlin following them. After a several-minute long walk, the path opened out onto a field, where knights were scattered around haplessly.

The knights that were observing them gasped. They were using swords. They were clad in armour. They looked every bit the same as Camelot knights. The only difference was-

"Sorcery!" Arthur gasped.

Sure enough, dotted around the training grounds were knights using magic. Some were using it against training dummies, some were using it against each other in a mock duel, but there were some who weren't using it at all, instead opting to train with a sword.

"Ah, yes." King Deslin muttered, "You reviewed the laws that I had in place for my kingdom before you came, no?"

"Yes," Arthur nodded, unable to take his eyes off them, "You said that you had outlawed sorcery."

"In a way, I have." King Deslin explained, "Sorcery is forbidden in Rivkah amongst the citizens, as it is dangerous if the wielder is unable to control it. However, for someone who is trained in the arts of magic, then it can become a formidable weapon, far stronger than any sword. So, I allowed my knights to be able to wield it so that they could be that much stronger as an army."

Arthur stared at the show in front of him, unable to take his eyes of a young woman who was attacking a dummy with a blade alight in flames, "Is it composed entirely of sorcerers?"

"No," King Deslin shook his head, "Their are warriors who have shown me that they're quite formidable with a sword, though their numbers are very small, and they're on the backlines. Healers are scattered along with them so that they can heal them on the battlefield."

"Is this what those collars are for?" Arthur blurted out, suddenly remembering Merlin's question, "Are they some kind of sorcery?"

King Deslin smiled, "Yes. Their sorcery is allowed, but t's also powerful. Those collars are their to keep their powers in check so that they don't accidentally kill anyone during training and it allows me to forbid them using magic as well, so that they can't use it against me."

"I see." Arthur nodded vacantly, his attention jumping from one sorcerer to the next, "And the servants?"

"I allow them to use magic for chores," King Deslin informed, "I forbade them from using it yesterday as I didn't want to overwhelm you on your very first day, but I always found that using magic to complete chores makes for a much more efficient servant, wouldn't you?" King Deslin chuckled, and Arthur tried his hardest not to glance at Merlin. He was sure to arouse suspicion if he did.

"And are these sorcerers going to be in the tournament?" Leon asked, marching up to the two of them. King Deslin smirked, something foreboding in his eye.

"Oh yes." He told them, "And their magic will be restricted, don't worry. You'll stand a chance."

Leon nodded grimly, his eyes focused on two knights who were duelling with vines that had come out of the earth, writhing around and being manipulated by the two knights who stood opposing each other, the very people he had been warned were evil as he grew up in the castle.

"Will any of the guys who fight with swords be in the tournament?" Percival piped up, eyeing the knights carefully. He knew that Merlin was magic, but he also knew that Merlin was his friend. Magic had destroyed everything that he had loved before he had met the knights, and he wasn't ready to start trusting it entirely just yet.

"Yes," King Deslin nodded, "Unfortunately, there are only 6 of you, so you are going to be vastly outnumbered, I'm afraid. But, I've tried making it a mix so that you'll be more equally matched. There will be a mix of both sorcerers and knights entering the tournament in the name of my kingdom."

The news was considered by the knights in silence, all of them transfixed by what was going on around them, and what they were going to be up against in just a week's time.

"So what's this preliminary round, then?" Elyan asked, "What does it entail?"

King Deslin grinned, "And you will find that out in the feast this evening! Meanwhile, I'd best be seeing to the preparations. Feel free to wander around and do as you please, but it's mandatory that all of you attend the feast this evening. Farewell."

King Deslin turned to leave. Arthur could feel himself relaxing slightly.

"Oh, and Prince Arthur?"

Arthur tensed again.

"Make sure your servant attends as well." King Deslin smirked, "You never know when we'll be short-handed."

With that, he sauntered off, leaving an uneasy clawing inside of Arthur's stomach.

"What do you think that was about?" Merlin asked after he was sure that King Deslin was no longer in earshot.

"I don't know," Arthur wasn't aware he was whispering, "But I think he has plans for you."

"Great." Merlin muttered, "They always do."

"So, gentlemen," Merlin noticed that Gwaine had a hand on the hilt of his sword, "Plans? Are we making friends or what?"

"With sorcerers?" Elyan asked before he could consider the words carefully, "What if we let something slip? What about if we accidentally mention Merlin? They'll go running to King Deslin."

"Until we get King Deslin's ideals and intentions figured out," Arthur explained, not taking his eyes off King Deslin's retreating figure, I think it's best that we stay away from them."

The knights all nodded. Merlin frowned, but nodded with them. He had to admit, he was genuinely curious about what the sorcerers had to say for themselves, and why they were in King Deslin's army. What was so special about him that made him worthy of their loyalty?

"Are you sure?" Merlin asked Arthur and the knights, who had started making their own way back, "What if we did talk to the sorcerers? We could learn more about King Deslin."

Lancelot frowned, "Do you think they'd be willing to part with that information? I'm sure they trust us just about as much as we trust them. They're answers aren't going to be reliable, Merlin."

Merlin sighed, but eventually agreed that he was right. He joined them in their walk, and was smiling again when it was time to wave goodbye to the knights as the continued down to the barracks. When they had gone and Merlin was sure no one was around to hear them, Merlin turned to Arthur.

"So," Merlin started, "Do you believe what King Deslin said about the collars?"

There was a long silence as Arthur contemplated his answer, "No," he finally stated, "He spoke of controlling their magic himself, he spoke nothing of loyalty or honour. I don't trust him"

"Alright," Merlin could feel the start of a smile appearing, "So what are you going to do about it?"

Another silence. Then, "I'm going to write to Gaius, asking him about all the information he has on that strange stone."

"Okay," Merlin smirked, "But you're to lazy to do that. So...?"

"So," Arthur gave a small laugh, "I'm going to order you to do it."

Merlin grinned, "That's more like it."


	4. A feast full of rules

"When do you want me to write the letter?" Merlin asked as he opened the door to the prince's chambers, watching him stride in.

"Don't go about doing it now, we've got a feast to prepare for. Tomorrow morning, perhaps." Merlin nodded, taking his sword off him and propping it up against the wall.

"What do you think these preliminaries are going to be about?" Arthur opened his mouth to answer Merlin's question, then paused.

"I've no idea," He answered honestly, "Usually in Camelot we just have jousting and swordfights. I've never been in anything else."

Merlin remained silent, watching the prince in concern as worry became evident in his eyes. As soon as it had appeared though, it was gone.

"Should be fun though," Arthur decided, "Sorcerers! They're going to be a challenge!"

Merlin tilted his head, "You're looking forward to it?"

"Of course, Merlin!" Arthur scoffed, "Father has never allowed a tournament with sorcerers before!"

Merlin stared at him increduously, "So you're not scared?"

Arthur shook his head, "No."

"But you're underprepared!"

"I am."

"You don't know what's going to happen!"

"I don't."

"You're at a severe disadvantage!"

Arthur grinned at him, "Exciting, isn't it?"

Merlin gawped at him, wondering not for the first time if his friend truly was an idiot. Arthur saw his baffled expression and rolled his eyes, "Don't be such a girl, Merlin. It's just a tournament."

"The man might try to have you killed!"

"And? If he does, you'll be there to stop him!"

Merlin was about to retort, and then realised it what he was saying, "You think so?"

"I hope so," Arthur corrected, "Gods, Merlin, if you've been able to run about undetected for all this time then I'd think it would be rather easy to investigate the reason behind a collar, wouldn't you?"

Merlin stammered, unsure of what to say, "I suppose."

"So," Arthur continued, "I trust you to be able to find the reason and, if there is a scheme, put a stop to it. With me by your side of course."

Merlin gave a bewildered nod, "Of course."

"Can't have you hogging all the glory."

"I haven't hogged the glory a day in my life!" Merlin laughed. Arthur scoffed.

"I don't believe that for a second!"

"I have not!"

"With that insufferable smug look every time you said, 'I told you so'-"

"I only did that every time you were being a prat!"

"You did that every time-"

"Exactly!"

"Merlin!" Arthur chuckled, staring in admiration for the man before him, once again reliving every moment where Merlin told Arthur what had happened behind the scenes every time Arthur thought Merlin was off lolly-gagging in the tavern. Every time he did, the warm, funny feeling in his stomach would only become even more pleasant.

"Seriously, Merlin," Arthur brought the tone of his voice down, "If this theory of yours does somehow come to light, then I'm putting all my trust in you. If anyone can unmask a king, you can."

Merlin stared at him, and Arthur felt a flutter at the sight of a blush rising up his neck and into his cheeks, "You really think that?"

"I do," Arthur replied immediately, "You've managed to unmask people in my court who I wouldn't dream of suspecting. Why should this time be any different?"

"We're up against a king, Arthur." Merlin faltered, "If we accuse him wrongly then it could mean war."

Arthur inhaled heavily at that, "Then just be careful, Merlin. The last thing I want is you getting hurt."

Merlin didn't reply, just nodded vaguely and went to his chambers to find a smarter set of clothes for the feast.

When Arthur and Merlin arrived at the celebration, Arthur in armour and Merlin in a tidier variation of the very same outfit, they gasped at what they found.

Arthur had insisted on arriving fashionably late, and so everyone was there by the time they had come down. Servants were scattered around the hall, eyes glowing gold on occasion as they filled up goblets. Foods of all kinds were lined up on the tables, servants warming them up using magic if they were to grow cold. Arthur thought he saw a servant filling up a plate of drumsticks with nothing but magic alone, but couldn't find the voice to comment on it. Merlin stared, just as bewildered, at the banners that adorned the towering walls, and the imprinted eagles that were flying from one banner to another.

"Prince Arthur!" King Deslin stood up from the table at the far back, "Welcome, please, grab a seat!"

He waved vaguely to the seat next to next to him and Arthur strode over to it, Merlin vacantly grabbing a spare jug on the serving table and rushing over to his place behind Arthur. Merlin could see that the knights were positioned on the table to the right at the very top, which made it easy to talk to them. However, they were to close to King Deslin to talk in secret, and Merlin had suspected that it had been done on purpose.

"So, how are you finding Rivkah, Arthur?" King Deslin's booming voice snapped Merlin out of his thoughts, turning his attention to the conversation in front of him. In his peripherals, he noticed that the knights were chancing occasional glances their way as well. It seemed he wasn't the only one concerned for the life of his prince.

"It's been a pleasant stay, thank you." Arthur responded curtly, "I've enjoyed it thoroughly so far."

"I hope it remains that way!" King Deslin chuckled, eating a drumstick, "Are you looking forward to the tournament?"

"Of course," Arthur grinned, "I've never faced a sorcerer in a tournament before."

I should think not! Tell me, how is your father?"

"He's doing well." Arthur said shortly, and Merlin could tell that King Deslin knew that he was lying, "He's just a bit shaken after his... daughter Morgana... well."

"Yes, I heard the news," King Deslin muttered, "A sorcerer, all this time! They never should be trusted."

Arthur turned to him, "You think that?"

"Indeed."

"Then why do you have them in your army?"

Merlin held his breath. King Deslin took a sip of his drink, "Sorcerers are immensely powerful. They're cunning. They're deceitful. They're a better fighter than any knight ever will be with a sword alone. However, they are evil. They're corrupt and seek only after themselves. That's why they have those collars, because it allows me to control their strength."

The knights froze. Merlin could see Arthur's hand shaking. He quickly held onto his goblet to make it less noticeable, "So, you're saying that you not only control their magic, but you also control their will?"

King Deslin frowned, as if they were discussing the weather, "Hm, I suppose. I've told them plenty of times that they're fighting for a noble cause, but they don't seem willing to listen, so I had to put that collar on them to keep them in check."

"And all those sorcerers, all those soldiers-" Arthur took a swig of wine to make himself seem less pale, "They're why your army's so powerful? If so, why do you seek more power?"

"I don't seek power," King Deslin explained, "I collect it."

Arthur frowned, "Collect it?"

"I'm sure you've heard the legends. Bards pass through kingdoms all the time, telling stories about powerful sorcerers and dashing knights," King Deslin explained, "But what baffles me is why kings don't do anything about them! There are all these people running around with all the power in the world at their fingertips and kings don't even attempt to recruit them in their armies."

The knights had fallen silent now, and were listening to the conversation with bated breath. Merlin was staring, shaking with shock, into his wine jug, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"So you force them to fight for you?" Leon interrupted for the knights' sake, momentarily forgetting his place. If King Deslin was offended though, he didn't show it.

"I wouldn't if they agreed to fight for me. Whenever a bard travels to my kingdom and tells me of a formidable warrior, then I hunt them down and capture them." A sadistic smirk stretched across King Deslin's face, "People of campfire stories, people of legends, people of prophecies, they're all collared to the strongest army the world's ever seen." Arthur froze, tuning out at that one word. That one word. That one word that made his stomach drop in fear.

"Prophecies?" He very nearly stammered. He could tell by how the knights leaned closer that they had all hooked onto that word as well.

King Deslin's face darkened, "Yes. They're the pain. Obviously, sorcerers that have been selected for prophecies are ridiculously powerful, but taking them down with sorcerers that are just as deadly doesn't make them too hard to defeat. But there's always been one."

Arthur bit his lip, trying his best not to choke, "One?"

King Deslin grinned, leaning forward, "There's a prophecy that the druids have been mentioning for years, centuries according to some. One that speaks of the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth, destined to bring peace, or something like that. I've been hunting all over for years, but no suck luck."

Arthur could feel drums pounding in his ears. No. No no no no. Painfully, he forced the words out of his mouth, "What's his name?"

King Deslin, unaware of Arthur's displeasure, started swirling the wine inside his goblet, eyes narrowing, "Emrys."

Arthur tried to force a smile, but nothing responded. Gwaine choked on his food and Elyan had to spit his drink back into his goblet, coughing a little. Noticing the knights' sudden reaction, King Deslin looked up, and then noticed Arthur's discomfort, "You've heard of him?"

"No." Arthur said to quickly, and then, cursing himself, "I mean, we have heard of him, of course, it's all the druids talk about, but we haven't seen anything that might be a clue to his whereabouts."

King Deslin considered him for one terrifying moment before leaning back into his throne with a sigh, "I've been torturing the druids for answers, but they refuse. I'm starting to think that they're as resilient as the Catha. The only thing I've gathered is that they've tucked him away somewhere under a different name."

"Is that so." Arthur was trying his best not to panic, completely aware of every movement that Merlin made behind him. 

"Could you imagine, though?" King Deslin was staring at the wall ahead of him, a dreamy smile on his face, "To have the most powerful sorcerer at your beck and call? You'd be unstoppable."

Arthur studied him carefully as King Deslin fell silent, clearly lost in thought. Arthur didn't dare wonder what he might be thinking about. Finally, after what seemed like eons, King Deslin snapped out of his thoughts.

"Still, best not to wager on what could be, am I right?" he grinned, "Best to focus on the here and now!"

With that, he snatched his goblet up from the table, stood up and spread his arms wide, "Court of Rivkah! Honoured guests of Camelot! I think it's high time that we establish the rules of the preliminary rounds!"

A short applause rang out, Gwaine being to shaken to even attempt to brighten up the mood, "Now, the preliminary round will be made up of 30 contestants, 6 of them being Camelot's finest knights!"

King Deslin waved his hand in the direction of the group, and it was all the knights could do to plaster smiles on their faces whilst the crowd applauded them. Some of the knights snuck glances at Merlin whilst King Deslin's attention wasn't on them, but he kept his gaze down, refusing to give anything away.

"The other 24 will be soldiers from Rivkah's army. In order to make it so that the Camelot knights are at less of a disadvantage, I've tried to make it more even, so there are 12 sorcerers and knights fighting in the tournament in the name of my kingdom."

Arthur flashed him a smile in thanks, but it quickly disappeared. They weren't fighting in his name. They were fighting because they were being forced to. And he didn't even care. "Alas for Camelot, I don't believe you've ever been in one of Rivkah's preliminary rounds, have you?" King Deslin smiled, but Arthur could now hear the mocking in his voice, "I believe some explanations are in order!"

The court cheered, but the Camelot knights just looked at each other. It was true, they'd never had a preliminary round in Camelot before, but that was because they'd never seen the point in one. What could be so different?

"Unfortunately, I see you've only brought one servant." Arthur very nearly grabbed his dinner knife when King Deslin looked at Merlin, but he managed to stop himself, "So the majority of the servants will be mine. It's no matter, they'll all be doing the same thing."

"And what's that?" Arthur asked, his false smile faltering slightly. Merlin couldn't be included. Not in the tournament. Not when they'd just learned what King Deslin wanted.

"Behold!" King Deslin snapped his fingers and a nearby servant handed him the case he had been clutching the entire evening. King Deslin opened the case and brought out four bracelets, all with a different coloured stone.

"These are for the servants in the preliminary round." King Deslin explained, "The blue stone is the Moon bracelet, the yellow is the Meteor bracelet, the red is the Comet bracelet and the white is the Star bracelet." Arthur took the box from King Deslin and the knights crowded round it, looking at the bracelets.

"Sire, if you'll allow a question, there are only four bracelets here," Lancelot spoke up, "Does that mean there'll be four servants?"

"No," King Deslin shook his head, "The star bracelet will have 20 servants wearing them, and will be worth 10 points. The Comet bracelet, worn by 15 servants, is worth 20 points. 5 servants will be wearing the Meteor bracelet, which is worth 50 points, and only one servant will be wearing the Moon bracelet, and bringing them back safely to any gate will cause you to automatically pass to the first round."

"Gates?" Arthur asked absent-mindedly, not taking his eyes of the bracelets.

"Yes. There is a swampy marshland not far from here where we usually have the preliminary round of a tournament. Surrounding the arena is a North gate, a South gate, a West gate and an East gate. The competitors and the servants will be divided into four and placed at these gates. Before the game starts, the servants will be selecting a random bracelet out of a bag and then a weapon to defend themselves out of a separate bag. They will then be let into the arena 10 minutes before the competitors enter."

The knights were listening enraptured, not sure what to think about this strange new game the Rivkans played for entertainment. King Deslin continued, "When the competitors enter, their job will be to capture the servants, the bracelets that will be on their wrist deeming their worth. As I said, Stars are worth 10, Comets are worth 20, Meteors are worth 50 and the Moon is a guaranteed pass. Only 16 out of the 30 will be making it to the next round."

Arthur nodded slowly, glancing towards each of the knights, making sure that they all understood the rules. He didn't dare look at Merlin. He knew he would hate this, "And will your servants be using magic?"

"No," King Deslin shook his head, "After all, we wouldn't want your servant to be at a disadvantage, do we?"

"You want Merlin to be a part of this?" Arthur asked, needing a definite answer, "I warn you he's capable of hardly anything."

"Nonsense!" King Deslin slapped Arthur's back a little to hard, and once again Arthur's heart picked up in alarm when the King looked at Merlin, "Wouldn't want your servant feeling left out, now, would we?"

Arthur gave a small smile before turning to look at Merlin. The poor boy looked overwhelmed, his eyes glued to the bottom of the wine jug. Arthur's goblet had long since run dry, but Merlin hadn't noticed, and Arthur didn't care.

"Merlin?" Arthur called softly, "Are you alright?"

Merlin didn't hear. He just stared. Arthur could see him shaking and wanted nothing more than to hug him.

"Merlin?" Arthur spoke a little louder, "Merlin?"

After a few tries, Merlin finally snapped out of it, shaking his head slightly, "Sorry, sire," He apologised stiffly, his voice dangerously quiet, "It was just a lot of information to take in, that's all."

Arthur bit his lip, frustrated that he currently wasn't able to do anything to cheer his manservant up.

"Hey, Merlin!" Gwaine suddenly hiccupped from his chair, waving his empty goblet around, "You mind giving me another?"

"You've already had enough."

"Enough?" Gwaine echoed loudly, plunging his finger into is ear to clean it, "Never heard of the word! Come on, top me!"

Merlin gave a small huff of laughter before obliging.

"That's better." Arthur whispered. Merlin glanced at him, but didn't say anything, refusing to acknowledge the blush that was once more seeping into his cheeks. After filling Gwaine's goblet, Merlin retreated to his position behind Arthur, a small smile now on his lips. Whilst it did nothing to erase the worry knitted in his eyebrows, Arthur still smiled his thanks to Gwaine in his attempt to cheer Merlin up when Arthur couldn't.

After King Deslin's announcement of the preliminary round and the explanation of the rules, activity in the feast died down a lot. The exclamations of excitement about the tournament died down after several hours. Arthur was able to recall something about entertainment being on display, but he didn't bother to pay attention, preferring instead to replay the preliminary rules over and over again. After the entertainment and after the food dwindled to crumbs on the plates, the volume died down, murmurs turning into rumours as the ladies of the court excused themselves and retreated to their chambers. The knights of Camelot, seeing that their prince would want to train the following day, excused themselves as well. Arthur could recall that Merlin was laughing as Leon dragged a complaining Gwaine to bed, and that Arthur had laughed along with him when Percival had to carry him out of there over his shoulder.

"I think I'd best call it a night as well," Arthur said, standing up. King Deslin rose with him, "Just know that you're free to use your half of the training grounds as much as you wish, you have a week to prepare for the Preliminaries. On the morning of the day a servant will pick you up and lead you to a carriage which will take you, your servant and your knights there."

"Thank you." Arthur replied, "Merlin, come."

Arthur couldn't leave the room quickly enough. Making sure that Merlin was beside him, he left the room, feeling King Deslin's eyes on his back all the way.


	5. A smile full of reassurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aithusa is Merlin and Arthur's child and that's the tea.

Merlin hadn't slept, and he could tell by the sound of muttering and movements from the other room that Arthur hadn't either. Tendrils of daylight had started nudging their way through the grime on the window, shining onto the pages of parchment that included a rough sketch of the collar, a brief description of it and an inquiry of what it did, all meant to be delivered to Gaius. At least, it would have been, if Merlin hadn't spent the last hour pacing, wondering if his final decision was a good one.

Noticing the first signs of daylight and realising he didn't have much time, he reached within him and pulled out a deep guttural voice.

" **O, Dragarn Aithusa! E male soi ftengometta tes'dhup anakess!** "

He stretched up and opened the window. After a while, he laughed as Aithusa clumsily flew into his arms, chittering happily. After Merlin had closed the window, Arthur barged in.

"Merlin, just what do you think you're-" He froze, staring at the creature now pawing at Merlin's neckerchief, "What," Arthur exclaimed, "Is that?"

"It's a dragon." Merlin answered, stretching out his arm slightly as Aithusa scrambled up it.

"I know what it is!" Arthur snarled, watching incredulously as Aithusa perched herself on Merlin's shoulder and nibbled on his ear.

"Then why'd you ask?" Merlin asked, turning his back so that he could roll up the parchment and tie it with a ribbon. Arthur gaped at him.

"It's just-" Arthur rolled his eyes in exasperation, "What's it doing here?"

Merlin waved the parchment at him, "I wrote the letter to Gaius, so I've summoned her to deliver it." Aithusa, blissfully unaware of Arthur's panicking, had now curled up on Merlin's head and had fallen asleep, her tail draping down over his shoulder.

Arthur glanced at her doubtfully, "You're entrusting our letter to a dragon who has the attention span of a goldfish?"

"She's only a baby," Merlin defended, "And I'm a dragonlord, she has to follow my orders. She won't be able to get distracted until she's carried out the mission." 

"Well, was the window open when you said that spell? Did anyone see her?" Arthur questioned. Honestly, what with everything that had been explained to them last night he would have thought Merlin would be smarter than this.

"No, I opened the window after I performed the spell," Merlin explained, "And no one's screaming, so I doubt anyone saw her. Besides, she's about the size of a bird, no one would have been able to tell she's a dragon from all the way down there."

Arthur took in this new information by rubbing his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. After hearing stories from his father, he knew that sorcerers could communicate with each other by means of telepathy and birds. Trust his idiot servant to have a message sent via baby dragon.

"Couldn't you try anything else?" Arthur half-begged, "A raven?"

Merlin shook his head, "I'm pretty sure the ravens have an alliance with Morgana, she's used them to communicate before. They'd just send the letter to her, and the last thing we  
need is Morgana getting new ideas."

Arthur agreed, half-heartedly. Seeing Arthur's mistrust, Merlin tried again, "She can fly faster than a horse, and right now that's what we need. Trust me, Arthur, please."

Arthur rubbed his temples, sighing, "Fine. I hope you're not wrong about this, Merlin."

Just then, a knock sounded from the other room, "That'll be the servant with our breakfast. I'll go and get it." He said. He pointed at Merlin, "You, stay in here, and keep the lizard quiet. The last thing we need is some servant scaring himself silly and running to the King."

Merlin nodded as Arthur left the room, closing the door behind him. Setting Aithusa down carefully and nudging her awake, Merlin got to work in explaining what she needed to do.

Arthur strode over to the door and opened it. He accepted the two plates from the servant, ignoring the obvious confusion on his face at having the prince answer him rather than  
his servant. After slamming the door on him, Arthur placed the two meals on the table.

Hearing the door slam, Merlin emerged, Aithusa once again perched on his shoulder, sniffing the air and eyeing the food greedily.

"Have you given it the order?" Arthur stretched, tugging a shirt on and flopping down onto a seat.

"Yes, but she needs to eat first," Merlin explained, sitting down in his own seat, "She has a long trip ahead of her and she can't go on an empty stomach."

Arthur sighed and waved a hand. A smile tugging at his lips, Merlin's eyes turned gold. Suddenly, a sausage flew from Arthur's plate and into Merlin's hand. Grinning, Merlin held it to Aithusa's mouth, who nibbled at it happily. Arthur stared at the two, aghast.

"Merlin!"

Merlin looked at him, ever the portrayal of innocence, "What?"

"That's my breakfast!"

"What else am I supposed to give her?"

"Yours?"

Merlin scoffed at him, but didn't answer. Instead, he ripped off a bit of his sandwhich and held it in front of her, smiling fondly as she wolfed it down. The two then continued to eat their own meals in silence, Arthur occasionally casting a glance at the dragon, who was now sat on the table and waving her white tail methodically.

"Merlin, she's staring at me."

Merlin looked up briefly from his sandwich, "She likes you. Give her a minute, she'll realise how wrong she is."

Putting an arm in front of his breakfast, Arthur continued to stare at the dragon. Aithusa stared back, a hint of a challenge glinting in her eyes. So this was how it was going to be.  
Arthur had never backed down from a challenge before, and some baby lizard wasn't about to change that.

"Merlin."

Merlin was ignoring him, suddenly interested in re-reading his letter and checking for any spelling mistakes.

"Merlin."

Arthur continued staring at the dragon. After a while, Merlin sighed.

"Arthur will you just give her some food?"

"Give her the rest of your sandwich!"

"I'm hungry!"

"Well, so am I- hey!"

In the midst of their arguing, Aithusa had snuck in and snatched another sausage. Arthur stared in amazement as she gobbled down the same thing that was roughly the size of her head. Merlin burst out laughing at the sight of Arthur's shock.

A deep, chortling sound came from Aithusa's stomach, which sounded incredibly similar to a laugh.

"It's mocking me!" Arthur realised with horror, making Merlin laugh harder, "Merlin, it's mocking me!"

"She finally understands how much of a prat you are!" Merlin responded, laughing. Aithusa chirped and flapped her wings merrily, happy that her master was enjoying himself so much.

It was a while before Merlin calmed down, but eventually he had finished his meal, giving what he could to Aithusa, and re-tied his letter with ribbon. Then using a separate piece, he tied it to Aithusa's leg, eyes glowing gold as he completed the knot.

"You sure that's not going to come off?" Arthur asked, watching the whole thing with scepticism.

"I just enchanted the knot so that only Gaius can unravel it. It's a long flight, and considering it took us a week to travel here, it should only take Aithusa about four days to travel to  
Gaius. Taking into account the journey there and back, what with Gaius researching it and Aithusa needing to rest, it should take about... 10 days?"

Arthur bit his lip, considering the information, "I suppose we'll just have to make do."

Merlin nodded, stroking Aithusa's snout with his finger absent-mindedly. Trying to preoccupy himself, he fetched Arthur's chainmail from the other side of the room. Looking  
down, Arthur frowned at the shining blue eyes that were staring back up at him.

"Fine," Arthur scowled, tossing the last piece of bacon at her, "Here."

Aithusa snatched it happily and swallowed it. Then, she sniffed at his fingers, licking the grease of them. Dammit, she was cute. Arthur stroked her snout, something he had noticed that she liked, fighting back a smile.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked from behind him. Arthur whipped around.

"Nothing."

"You're petting Aithusa."

"No I'm not."

Aithusa was now purring contently, rubbing her head against his arm. Merlin watched the display of affection whilst snickering at Arthur's embarrassment.

"Come on, let's get you dressed." Merlin said, holding up the chainmail that he was holding.

Arthur stepped forward and allowed Merlin to dress him. From the table, Aithusa was licking the plate, trying to get all the bacon grease off it. Arthur stifled a laugh. Hearing his attempts, Merlin looked over to the table as well, smiling fondly. While the two were preoccupied with getting Arthur dressed in his chainmail, Aithusa's head perked up, growling. Noticing the growl, Merlin jerked his head in her direction.

"Something's wrong." Merlin said, his grip tightening on the straps he was tying. Aithusa was snarling now, sneaking her way across the table towards the direction of the bed.

Arthur grabbed his sword and pointed it towards the bed. Before he had time to act, however, Aithusa pounced, diving under the bed. The two boys froze, listening to the sounds of a scuffle, a squeak, and then silence.

They looked at each other. Arthur with a hand on his sword, and Merlin with magic thrumming at his fingertips. Arthur approached the bed cautiously, "Aithusa?" He asked, "What is it?"

He bent down to look underneath the bed. Merlin looked on, spells gathering at the tip of his tongue, his eyes flicking gold in preparation.

"Merlin," Arthur spoke, his eyes narrowing, "Come look at this."

Merlin joined them, Arthur reaching out a hand to grab whatever Aithusa had caught. Then, he withdrew his hand from under the bed, dangling the strange thing in front of Merlin's face.

"A rat." Merlin observed, and then with relief, "it's just a rat."

"Just a rat?" Arthur echoed in disbelief, "Merlin, what's a rat doing in my chambers?"

Merlin's smile fell, his relief fading into realisation, "Ah."

Arthur nodded, "Care to tell me what a rat is doing in here?"

Merlin shook his head, "I wouldn't know."

"You wouldn't know a lot of things, would you?"

Merlin didn't answer, not knowing how to without making Arthur even more angry. Arthur just scoffed and rose, wrapping the rat up into Merlin's cleaning rag and tossing it into the fireplace. Aithusa slithered out from under the bed, sitting next to Merlin and puffing out her chest, proud of herself. Unable to stop the smile spreading on his face, he gathered her up in her arms.

"I'm letting Aithusa go now," Merlin spoke, guiding her to his shoulder. Arthur nodded, not answering.

Retreating back to the servant quarters, Merlin opened the window and looked to Aithusa, a silent question of if she was ready. Aithusa nibbled his ear in answer. Patting her head, Merlin stretched out his arm and watched her use it as a perch.

Then he threw the arm up and Aithusa took off, flying out of the window and climbing as high as she could as quickly as possible, an order from Merlin so that she could hide herself in the clouds.

Merlin watched her go, praying that she'd be alright. He listened for a little while longer and then, when he couldn't hear any screams or shouts of alarm, he closed the window and left the room. 

"I'm sorry I snapped." Came Arthur's voice as soon as he entered his chambers. He was now perched on the same chair that he had eaten in, his chin resting on stapled fingers.

"That's alright," Merlin said, wondering why Arthur was making such a big deal out of it, "I should have been on the lookout, it's my fault."

"It's not anyone's fault," Arthur shook his head, rubbing his temples, "I just got scared, that's all."

Merlin sat down, joining him, "Scared?"

Arthur sighed, leaning back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling, "When Aithusa growled, I thought," He swallowed, "I thought that maybe King Deslin would have found some sort of spell that would allow him to spy on us, or listen to our conversations. I thought that maybe we'd revealed you without knowing."

Merlin nodded, "You're worried about what he said last night."

"How could I not be?" Arthur clasped his hands on the table, "Merlin, he wants you. Who knows what he'll do if he finds out? You're in danger, Merlin."

"And what about you?" Merlin asked, "If he finds out you've been keeping my identity a secret from him, he'll kill you! He knows how good a swordsman you are, he may even collar you as well!"

Arthur stood up, pacing. Merlin watched him anxiously as he finally came to a stop. He turned to Merlin with a decision, "You're leaving."

"What? No!"

"This isn't your choice, Merlin!" Arthur scowled, "We can say you're sick, ask King Deslin to lend him one of his servants."

"No!" Merlin stood up now, "If I'm not here, who's going to protect you?"

"I can take care of myself, Merlin!"

"He has an army of sorcerers at his command," Merlin marched up to him, "No one could stop him from killing you if he wanted to!"

Arthur stiffened at this. Merlin took in the tense form, the muscles that framed his figure, the golden hair that shone in the sun.

"If anything happened to you," Merlin started, unable to look at him, "If anything happened and I wasn't there, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Arthur didn't look at him. He just stared at the floor, thoughts whizzing through his head.

Merlin continued, "And I know you feel the same way."

Arthur wasn't saying anything. Merlin could feel tears welling up in his eyes as he stepped closer to his prince.

"So if neither of us can stand being apart from each other," Merlin said, "Then why don't we fight together?"

Arthur turned his head as this, and Merlin could see his eyes were shining as well.

"Please don't let me go." Merlin whispered, voice cracking slightly.

Arthur exhaled, sniffing slightly, "You know one thing you keep forgetting to mention." He spoke, his voice just as quiet as Merlin's.

"What?"

"It's that I'm protecting you as well."

Merlin kept quiet, so Arthur continued, stepping closer to him, "I know you're supposed to be this powerful sorcerer, but I doubt you'll be able to handle an entire army all by yourself." Arthur chuckled at the image, wrapping his arms around Merlin's waist as an afterthought. If Merlin had minded, he didn't say. Using this as encouragement, he went on, "But as long as this outlaw of sorcery continues, as long as your identity needs to be kept a secret, then I'll protect it and you with my life, I swear it."

Merlin rested his head on Arthur's chest, breathing in the scent of him as an assurance. Arthur perched his head on top and began absent-mindedly stroking his hair. Merlin sighed, beginning to feel himself calm down from the sensation alone.

"Promise me that you'll never force me to leave your side." Merlin spoke into his warmth, "Promise that you'll stay with me."

Arthur smiled into Merlin's hair, "I promise."

"Then I'll protect you."

"And I you."

The two stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity to both of them, neither of them knowing how long they had stayed like that and neither of them wanting it to end. Arthur was replying every moment he had ever had with a girl, and how he had held them like this whenever he had to reassure them. With them, it had felt like waiting. Waiting for them to feel better, waiting for them to pull themselves together. With Merlin, he felt like he himself was starting to feel better the minute he knew Merlin was cheering up. When he was with Merlin, he wasn't waiting. He was enjoying the moment just as much as Merlin was. Unfortunately though, it as getting bright outside, and the knights wouldn't want to be kept waiting. They had a tournament to win, after all.

"Come on," Arthur whispered into Merlin's hair, "We should get going."

Merlin hummed his agreement and the two parted, both feeling infinitely better as they left the room.

The week passed by in a hurry, each day more or less the same. They would train with the knights every morning after breakfast. Since they knew what they had to do in the preliminary round, most of their training was on agility, since they knew that they would be doing a lot of running. When Merlin wasn't ogling Arthur's legs and calf muscles while he was training, he was being forced by said Arthur into running with them, since he was going to take part in the preliminaries as well. This had led to him being endlessly teased by the knights on his stamina, and each day ended with him collapsing onto his bed after he had finished all of his chores.

Before they knew it, the servant was knocking on Arthur's door on the morning that the tournament started. Arthur and Merlin cast one last look at each other behind following the servant down to the grounds where the their carriages where waiting for them. On the way there, they listened closely to what the servant was saying.

"There are four gates leading to the arena," the servant explained, keeping his eyes down, not daring a glance at either of them, "There will be four carriages waiting to take you both to your respective gates. Your highness, you will be going to the West gate. Merlin, you will be led to the carriage going to the East gate along with fellow knight Sir Lancelot."  
"Do you know which gates the others are heading to?" Merlin asked. The servant answered almost immediately, his tone robotic, "Sirs Percival and Elyan are at the North gate and Sirs Leon and Gwaine will be entering the arena through the South gate."

Merlin nodded slowly, taking in the new information, "And I'll be selecting my bracelet at the arena?"

"Yes. You'll be selecting a bracelet and a weapon at random and then let into the arena 10 minutes before the knights. The 16 with the highest amount of points will be making it to the first round."

"Right." Merlin sighed, looking at Arthur, who seemed just as focused as he was.

The two arrived outside and several carriages were waiting outside for them, multiple being needed for just one gate. Merlin saw Lancelot standing next to a carriage and jogged up to him whilst the servant led Arthur to one of the carriages heading to the West gate.

"Lancelot!" Merlin called, grinning. Lancelot turned to him, smiling, "Merlin, it's good to have you here."

Merlin looked around. Sorcerers and servants alike that were also headed to the East gate were casting curious looks at them. Behind them, he could see other carriages lined up for the other gates, and the occasional red cape swishing in the crowd, lost in a sea of blue.

"He's split us up on purpose," Merlin muttered, foot tapping impatiently, "So that it'll be harder for us to team up and help each other."

"It would seem that way." Lancelot agreed, examining the carriage. Merlin turned to him, "Did you know he's put Arthur on his own?"

Lancelot turned to him, "He has?"

Merlin nodded, fear starting to rise in him, not giving it much thought before, "Do you think the sorcerers could be picking a fight with him? What if he's already hurt? Or-"

He stopped, Lancelot placing a steady hand on his shoulder.

"Merlin," He smiled at the name, "I think you worry to much about Prince Arthur. If King Deslin wants him in the tournament, then he wouldn't order his sorcerers to cause any of us harm."

"You're right." Merlin sighed, "But he's up to something. I know it."

Lancelot smiled. Noticing Lancelot's glee at such an ominous statement, Merlin frowned at him, "What?"

"Nothing, forgive me," Lancelot chuckled, I'm just glad Arthur finally realised just how lucky he is to have you."

Merlin grinned, remembering once again the sheer relief that had swept over him like a tidal wave when Arthur had finally accepted his magic, "Arthur's lucky to have both of us,"  
He corrected, "You're the noblest of us all, Lancelot."

Lancelot opened his mouth, most likely to protest, when horns blared and ushers stepped forward, announcing that it was time for everyone to get into their carriages.

Lancelot and Merlin clambered aboard one of the carriages to the East gate and waited for it to fill up with other sorcerers and servants. Merlin's eyes lingered on each of their collars, but then, in an attempt not to make himself worry, forced himself to look out of the window.

Lancelot was studying his competition, wondering if was going to be facing any of them any time soon. They all had those frightful collars on them, the cold, hard iron strangling their necks. Lancelot's eyes stayed on the woman who was opposite him. A tall, lean figure who had plush lips and long, curly blonde hair. Wide, brown eyes gazed in glorious boredom outside the window, the sun turning them gold whenever they passed through the trees.

"Like what you see?" Came the sultry voice that snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Forgive me," Lancelot apologised, realising he had been staring, "It wasn't my intention to be rude."

The woman's red, voluptuous lips twitched into a smile that oozed confidence. She regarded Lancelot like a cat would a mouse, then her eyes drifted back to whatever was so interesting outside the window, their conversation apparently over.

It took the better part of an hour, but they received the news that all carriages had now reached their respective gates, and that they were now ready to begin. 

Merlin stepped outside, only to gasp at the stone wall that towered before him, showing nothing off the swampy arena that was inside. The only thing he could see was a giant door made of the same iron that was wrapped around the army's neck. Over the iron door was a red 'E'

"Servants this way!" Came a call from one of the ushers. Bidding goodbye to Lancelot, Merlin made his way over to a small group of servants, who were forming a line. Once the 8 that had travelled to the East gate were all accounted for, the usher in charge of them, a large, plump woman, pulled out two bags.

"Attention, all of you!" The woman called to the servants, "This bag here," she held a rather small pouch in her right hand, "is the bag with the bracelets in it. These are the bracelets that will be deeming how many points you are in the game. For anyone who needs reminding: Stars are worth 10, Comets are worth 20, Meteors are worth 50 and the Moon grants whichever contestant who captures you passage to the next round. You are not to show this to anyone, understand?"

After receiving a bunch of nods, she continued, "This bag here," she held up the bag in her left hand, "is full of weapons you'll be defending yourself with. Anything's in here, from maces to candles. Close your eyes and pray you get a good one. I will also remind you once again that Rivkah servants are forbidden to use magic. We'll start by passing around the weapons bag."

Placing the small bracelet pouch on the table beside her, the woman opened the bag and made sure the servants weren't looking as they plunged their arms into it.

" _This shouldn't be too bad,_ " Merlin prayed as a servant pulled out a mini dagger, " _As long as I get a decent weapon I should be fine._ "

Merlin looked around for Lancelot while he was waiting, and he found him with the other contestants, listening to their own set of rules.

Finally, the servant next to him pulled out a candlestick. Then, the woman was standing in front of him, trying not to look to impatient. Hastily, Merlin placed his arm in the bag, rummaging around, wincing as he felt sharp things poking him. Something good and sharp, yes, that'll do...

The woman coughed, and Merlin's hand closed around something as he pulled it back. Something good and sharp, so that he wouldn't have to risk magic-

A sewing needle.

Merlin blinked.

A sewing needle.

Merlin made to protest, but the woman had already moved on. As the last few servants pulled out their decent, far better weapons, Merlin could only hold his breath in dread as the woman walked back to her place beside the table.

"And I'll remind you that killing any of the contestants of fellow servants is against the rules." She finished plopping the bag down behind her. Merlin could her the servants snickering at his pitiful needle, but he stared ahead, praying that things would turn around with the next draw.

Sure enough, the woman was now pulling out the second, much smaller bag and went over to the first servant. He reached out, grabbed the first one he could find and pulled out, putting it on his wrist and making sure not to tell any one about it. Merlin exhaled, trying not to panic. 

The woman was at the servant next to him, and Merlin respectfully looked away as he pulled out his bracelet. Then, the woman was in front of him, holding out the pouch.

Merlin took a deep breath, sent one final prayer, put his hand into the bag, grabbed the first thing he could and withdrew his hand.

Holding his breath, he looked down.

_Of course. Of bloody course._

Moon.


	6. A chase full of spells

_Of course it had to be the bloody moon._

Merlin now stood with the rest of the servants in the shadow of the iron gate, waiting to receive the word that servants from the other gates were waiting to begin. When he looked around, Merlin could see Lancelot behind him, telling the man in charge of the contestants' weapon bag that he would much rather prefer to use his sword to defend himself. The man shrugged and moved on.

He could feel the moon bracelet tightening at his wrist, reminding himself once again of the pitiful screwing needle that he was holding. How, as the most valuable player in the game, was he going to protect himself like this?

Suddenly he was dragged out of his thoughts by a large trumpet. Everyone turned and faced the man who had blown it, who was standing on a small platform.

"Attention!" He shouted, "We've just received word that the people waiting by the other gates are now ready to proceed! We will now be releasing the servants into the arena! They will have 10 minutes before they hear loud horn, will which signify that we've let the contestants in as well!"

Merlin's thoughts were racing with panic, it was all he could do to keep on listening to the man. He self-consciously grabbed the sleeve that was hiding the moon bracelet, tugging it down even further.

"We will begin... now!"

The horn sounded again and with a deafening creak. As soon as the sound faded, the East door opened. Servants took of running as soon as the could, squeezing through the gap of the double doors and entering the arena, Merlin with them.

Because of the towering stone walls that cast shadows over the arena, it was incredibly dark. Trees towered over him, and, since there was no clear path, Merlin thought it best to just swerve by them and keep on running.

He had noticed when they started that some off the servants had taken to the wall and were running around, since they knew the centre of the arena would be where most of the contestants would meet, and that would be where the worst of the scuffle would be.

Merlin had no idea how big the arena was, but the walls that had wrapped around the Eastern gate had disappeared into the slight fog that had settled and, knowing his luck, Merlin was prepared to guess that it was huge.

Between the panting and the thunderous heartbeat, Merlin had gathered his thoughts as best as he could and remembered that the servant said that Arthur would be taken to the Western gate. That was on the other side of the arena. Charging forward as best as he could in the slippy, unstable ground, Merlin raced on, trying to make the most of his ten minute head start.

He had to get to Arthur. The only good thing that came from pulling the moon bracelet was that he would be able to grant Arthur passage onto the next round. If he could just get to the Western gate and find him, then Arthur could take him back through the Western gate and he could get Arthur to the next round before the Preliminaries had even begun. Gasping for breath, Merlin paused, knowing that he would be at a severe disadvantage if he was winded before the contestants had even started. 

Without warning, a horn ripped through the air. Merlin whimpered slightly, clutching his sewing needle. His 10 minutes were up.

Merlin kept on running, only now he could hear faint screams and shouts in the distnce. He knew it would be a while beofre he encountered a contestant, but he also knew that contestants would be able to run faster than him. He had to be close to the westen gate by now. He had to make it past the centre of the arena at least before anyone else got there and chaos ensued.

He tried to look up at the sun to see if he could get a vague sense of direction, but no such luck. The trees loomed above him, their leaves and branches clawing a roof over his head. Mud already stained his boots and trousers, and yet he still forced himself to keep going. The wish that Arthur was running forward with the same hope of finding him kept Merlin going, though then again, Arthur didn't know Merlin was the most valuable player in the game. He had to keep going. He had too-

Merlin let out a short scream as his legs stopped moving and he plunged to the ground. The world spinning around him, Merlin heaved himself up onto his elbows to find that he couldn't move his legs. Looking down, he saw a bulky rope pinning his legs together, a pair of rocks weighting the ropes down. With a sense of alarm, Merlin heard footsteps coming towards him. Using his elbows to try and drag himself away, he quickly learnt that it was futile when an arm grabbed him and hauled him to his feet, causing him to meet the beady eye of Rivkah contestant.

"What do we have here?" The gravely voice said. The man was made entirely of muscle, and Merin was sure that the grip he had on Merlin's arm was already leaving a bruise. The blue cape, already torn and ragged in places, enveloped him, and Merlin could see neck veins bulging from his collar. His cold, stern gaze raked over Merlin, eventually landing on the small blue stone that was wrapped tightly around Merlin's wrist. Merlin felt a chill race down his spine as the contestant smiled cruelly.

"You're coming with me." Merlin made a small noise of protest, but couldn't exactly do much as the man grabbed him, lifted him up onto his shoulder and set off.

Merlin started struggling even more when he realised that they were going in the wrong direction. He looked around desperately to see if there were any Camelot knights he could call for help, but all he could see were vague shilouettes in the distance, shouting and screaming their own battle cries as they fought over their own servants. 

The Rivkah contestant marched on for quite some time, Merlin struggling in futile all the way. Which way were they going? There had to a Camelot knight somewhere nearby? If he could somehow get their attention-

"Boar!"

The contestant paused and looked around.

"Byrne." Merlin could hear the silky smile in his captor's voice. Feeling rough hands on his side, Merlin grunted as he was picked up and practically dropped onto the ground. When he had recovered, he watched as two Rivkah competitors stood face to face. The one that had called out was a woman with flaming red hair that swirled around her shoulders. Freckles dotted the lines of anger on her face and her green eyes were alight with fury.

"I'm taking the boy." She demanded. Boar, the bulky man that had captured Merlin, laughed, "And what makes you think I have someone worth your time?"

Showing little to no interest in their petty rivalry, Merlin got to work in undoing the rope around his legs.

"You're arrogance has convinced you that you're one of the best, Boar," Byrne smirked, "So, naturally, you're only going to go for the best. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy you're carrying is wearing the moon bracelet." At that, she looked at Merlin, and noticed him tugging at the rope around his legs.

"Hey!" She shouted. Merlin looked up to see her eyes glowing gold. Immediately, flames sprung up around him, preventing any means of escaping. Merlin bit his lip. He couldn't do anything about it now, not with two Rivkah's who could easily catch him doing magic. Trying not to worry about the flames, Merlin instead continued working on the rope around his legs.

The two had begin to square off. Since the rope around Merlin's leg had been the weapon that Boar had pulled out of the bag, he was now armed only with fists against the sorcerer who had most likely chosen her own magic as her weapon. 

" **Forbeanan Ackwele!** " Byrne shouted, a fireball materialising in the palm of her hand. It hurled towards Boar, air rippling with heat around the two. He sidestepped and covered his face as smoke erupted from it. The fight was now encased in a smokescreen worse than the fog, Merlin could only squint to work out was happening.

"You sorcerers!" Merlin could hear Boar bellow, his voice seeming to echo around him, "So dependent on your spells that you've grown lazy when it comes to fighting!"

Merlin strained his ears as hard as he could, able to hear grunts coming from the two as they sparred. Since he couldn't see them, Merlin assumed, hoped, that the other two wouldn't be able to see him either. Holding his breath, he whispered a spell as quietly as he could.

" **Forbeanan yfel.** "

The flames that surrounded him burnt out and Merlin straightened up as quietly as he could, keeping his ear of the taunting and the spell casting that seemed to be getting closer and closer to him. Any minute now, they would realise he was gone. Throwing caution to the wind, Merlin began to run in the direction that he hoped was west.

" **Cume her fyrbyrne!** " From behind him, Merlin could hear Byrne screaming another spell. Not knowing wether the spell was intended for him or for Boar, Merlin picked up the pace anyway, remembering the spell from when he had used it against the Black Knight. Now, he imagined a line of fire racing up to meet him. That time the spell had failed. Merlin knew he wouldn't be so lucky.

Merlin pushed forward, now able to feel the heat reaching out to him. He was forced to stop when the flames outran him, and he was blocked by a wall of fire.

"You!"

Merlin whipped around to see Byrne scowling at him, the flames behind him dying down. Boar was nowhere to be seen, but Merlin paid no attention to that. He was preoccupied. Byrne was marching up to him, and Merlin knew it was pointless to run, knowing that the flames would just spring up again. She snatched his wrist and grinned greedily at the blue stone that was there. She grabbed his arm and continued in the direction that Merlin had been running in. Fear began to grow in Merlin's stomach again as he wondered if they were anywhere near a gate. He had lost all sense of direction in the scuffle, and could only hope that Arthur had had the same idea and was looking for him.

Merlin palmed the sewing needle he had hidden in his hand. He let Byrne drag him along, trying for all he was worth to get any glimpses of the sun through the canopy of leaves. After realising that it was no use and that there were to many shadows to depict which way was north, Merlin had had now decided to use desperate measures. Scanning the ground, Merlin gave the hint of a smile at the sight of a root that was snaking out of the ground.

Keeping his head down, Merlin's eyes glowed gold as he enchanted the root to grow longer and snag at Byrne's leg.

When he heard a short yelp of surprise, Merlin knew her leg had been entangled. As she tugged to pull free, Merlin whipped out his needle and stabbed her in surprise. She shouted in alarm and pain, letting go off him instinctively.

Picking a direction, Merlin once again started running as quickly as his legs could take him. He could hear her casting a spell behind him, most likely to burn the root around her leg. He had a head start though, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. He charged ahead, not caring about his burning lungs. Chancing a glance behind him, he could see her catching up. He couldn't let her drag him to another gate. Couldn't let her win. If there was any way he could use magic without her knowing-

Just then, in his peripherals, Merlin thought he saw a flurry of red hiding behind a tree. Before he could slow down to consider it, he heard a loud bang and a grunt of pain from Byrne. Stopping, Merlin turned around and could feel a smile break out across his face.

"Gwaine!"

"Hey Merlin!" Gwaine grinned, standing over the unconscious body of Byrne, "Fancy meeting you here!"

Leon, who had been behind the tree with Gwaine, joined him and patted him on the back. Leon, like Lancelot, had chosen to keep his preferred weapon of a sword. Gwaine, however, had chanced his luck at the draw, and pulled a-

"A frying pan?" Merlin laughed, smiling. Gwaine shrugged, twirling the thing around, "Have to admit, the thing has it's uses. So? What'd they give you?"

Unable to stop grinning, Merlin picked up the needle and waved it at him. Gwaine burst out laughing.

"You poor sod!" Gwaine chortled, "And? What bracelet did you pull out?"

Merlin held out his wrist so that his sleeve pulled back and revealed the blue stone. Gwaine grinned, "Ah, jackpot."

"Exactly," Merlin sighed, "I want to find Arthur, and help him get to the next round. Have you found anyone else?"

Leon shook his head, "No. Me and Gwaine entered through the South gate and decided it would be best if we stuck together. Then we saw all this fire and smoke. We figured that the servant the sorcerer must have been trying to capture was valuable, so we came over to investigate."

"I'm glad you did," Merlin grinned breathlessly, "There were two Rivkah contestants fighting over the bracelet. She was responsible for all the fire, but I think the other was just an ordinary knight."

"Makes no difference now." Leon shrugged, "Come on, let's go see if we can find anyone else."

"Wait!" Merlin called, checking to see if anyone was around, then, lowering his voice, "I could use magic to see the path ahead. It might help. Could you cover for me and keep watch?"

"Sure." Leon nodded. Once again checking to make sure no one was around, Merlin let his eyes glow gold, tilting his head every which way as he tried to decide which way to go. He could see several contestants fighting in temporary alliances and servants being fought over. Eventually, he found a lone figure with a red cape, clashing swords with another Rivkah knight."

"That way!" Merlin decided, pointing in the direction he was certain was west. Without question, the two knights joined Merlin in heading in that direction, all three of them on the lookout for any challengers. Merlin could see contestants rush past with their own servants, obviously having no interest in the servant that the Camelot knights had managed to "capture." Merlin unconsciously covered the blue stone with his sleeve, glad that none of them knew just how many points he was worth.

"We should probably start worrying about our own score." Leon muttered as a contestant raced past with a servant in tow, "There can't that that many servants running around now. We may have to fight for our scores."

"True. In fact," Gwaine paused, turning back to look at the retreating figure, "I saw a sword on that contestant, think he's another knight. Why don't you go after that one?"

Leon stopped in his tracks. Nodding, he turned to Gwaine, "You look after Merlin. I'll be with you in a second."

The two watched as Leon ran to catch up with contestant. Soon, the two listened in silence to the swords clanging, watching with bated breath as the two danced, their feet swerving. Eventually, the contestant fell to the floor and Leon pointed his sword at his neck. The contestant held up his hands and Leon helped him up. Then he held out his hand and the servant took it, with no protest from the contestant. Leon joined them again, servant in tow as the Rivkan ran off into the fog.

"Lucky," Leon grinned, "Meteor bracelet. 50 points."

Gwaine frowned, looking not at Leon, but at the direction the soldier had run off in.

"He was awfully lenient in letting the servant go." Gwaine mused, "You sure he didn't have anything up his sleeve?"

"Not every knight in King Deslin's army is bad," Leon and Gwaine looked at the servant who had spoken up, "That knight was my master, and he's the kindest man I know."

"Is that so?" Gwaine asked, beginning to walk again, "I saw a collar around his neck. Is King Deslin charge of people without magic as well?"

The servant shook his head, "Yes, but not right now, only when there's more at stake. To King Deslin, this is just a harmless tournament, he's allowing the knights to show off what they can do on there own."

"Harmless, huh?" Merlin said suspiciously. The doubt that there were ulterior motives behind this tournament still hadn't disappeared. It had now been a week, so there were only three days to go before Aithusa was expected to arrive with Gaius' reply. Merlin could imagine him now, soaring through the air, scales keeping his body warm against the rushing wind, not trapped in a cold, dank marshland encased in a world of fog.

Merlin watched the servant's face become framed with doubt, "It's true that King Deslin does often... use his army for selfish reasons. But it's not my place to speak behind my King's back. I'm sorry."

"You don't speak because you're loyal?" Merlin asked. The servant looked behind him, as if he was scared someone could be listening to the conversation and then shook his head, the colour leaving his face.

"I see." Merlin said bitterly.

The four continued walking forward. Merlin could no longer see the path ahead because of their new company, but he hoped that Arthur hadn't changed direction and was still heading their way.

"Camelot!" A shout came from behind them, "Face me!"

Leon and Gwaine turned around, sword and frying pan drawn. A knight with no weapon was standing there, with no servants.

"Well," he gave a cocky smirk, "I see that you already have a fair share of points."

"Just a meteor and a star." Gwaine said, examining his new opponent, "We're doing better than you it seems."

Their opponent smirked, "Not for long. **Astrice!** "

Leon and Gwaine were launched backwards though since the spell was split for two of them, it wasn't powerful enough to knock them out. They landed on the ground with a thud, groaning as they shook the dull aches at the back of their heads.

"You really think you can take on the both of us?" Gwaine got to his feet, his frying pan at the ready.

"That thing?" The knight laughed in disbelief. Gwaine charged forward, planting is feet into the ground as the sorcerer tried another spell, his cape flapping out behind him. Leon rushed in to help him. The knight, his attention divided, was soon panicking.

" **Oferswing!** "

The two were blasted backwards, much further than before. Merlin tensed, realising that he had underestimated the sorcerer's power. The air around him now cackled, his eyes burning gold.

"Do not think you can underestimate me!" The sorcerer bellowed.

Merlin bit his lip. A sewing needle wasn't going to do much good. Magic thrummed at his fingertips instead, spells on the tip of his tongue. He was on the verge of forming the words when a voice from beside him spoke.

"Don't worry. I don't make a habit of underestimating my opponent."

Merlin grinned, laughing in relief.

"Arthur!"


	7. An arena full of alliances

"Of course it had to be the bloody moon!" Arthur exclaimed as soon as he saw the bright blue stone that was wrapped around Merlin's wrist.

"That's what I said!" Merlin laughed, still riding the high from his relief. Leon and Gwaine had recovered now and were running over to greet them.

"Princess!" Gwaine grinned, "How's it going?"

"Not to bad, Gwaine!" Arthur nodded in greeting.

"Excuse me!"

Camelot knights and servant all turned in the direction of the sorcerer they had just been fighting, who was now scowling impatiently, "Didn't I just tell you not to underestimate me?"

"Ah. Right." Arthur remembered. He drew his sword, followed by the other two, and, enjoying the fact that he was once again centre of attention, the sorcerer smirked, "You knights always go on about honour and dignity," he jeered, "Yet you need three of your finest to go against one sorcerer! You talk about being noble, yet you can't even fight your own battles! The knights in our army are much stronger..."

"Gwaine? Is that a frying pan?" Arthur hissed as the sorcerer continued talking. Gwaine looked at him.

"It is."

"You're fighting with a frying pan?"

"The thing has it's uses."

"Why didn't you pick your sword?"

Gwaine rolled his eyes, "I wanted to see if I could try a different weapon!"

"With that? A frying pan?"

"I know."

"You can't fight an army with a frying pan."

"I know!"

"At least Leon made the sensible choice of choosing his sword."

Hearing his name, Leon smiled, ignoring the blatant rambling in the distance, "Of course. I wasn't going to risk going into unchartered territory without something I could trust."

"Precisely." Arthur nodded approvingly, "In times of danger you need something familiar to help you."

"I knocked a woman out with this," Gwaine defended, "It's a lot more efficient than you realise!"

"It's clearly the stuff of legends," Leon smirked, "Sir Gwaine, knight of Camelot, wielder of frying pans."

Arthur snickered at this. Gwaine sighed, "Well, at least Merlin has seen the true potential of the frying pan, haven't you, Merlin?"

"Dear Lord, what'd they give you?" Arthur realised and asked the question before Merlin could answer Gwaine's. He now turned to Merlin, the remabling of the sorcerer still white noise in the backgroud. Merlin grinned sheepishly as he waved the sewing needle at Arthur.

"Oh good gods." He groaned, rubbing his temples with two fingers, "I should have known."

"What?" Merlin shrugged, "The thing's helped."

"How could that thing possibly help?"

"I stabbed someone in the arm and ran away."

"You got caught by someone?"

"Yes, I did, but then Gwaine and Leon saved me."

"Of course they did," Arthur smiled, "You're such a girl, Merlin.

"You're such a prat!"

"Clotpole!"

"Excuse me!" The call came again. The three knights and servant once again turned to look at the furious sorcerer who they had blocked out ages ago, "Not only are you teaming up to fight, you're also blatantly ignoring me! It seems that Camelot is worse than I thought."

"He's right, we need to start paying attention," Arthur said grimly, "Let's show what happens when people have the audacity to insult Camelot!"

The three knights held up their respective weapons and charged at the sorcerer head on.

" **Astrice!** " The sorcerer yelled. The three had to bend slightly to keep to the ground, but because there were three of them the spell barely had any power, and all three managed to hold their ground.

They continued on. The sorcerer stepped back slightly, fumbling for a more powerful spell.

" **Folge min bebod!** " Merlin gave a cry of alarm, remembering how that spell had killed before, but it was clear the sorcerer had control over what he was doing. 

Hearing Merlin's cry, Arthur threw himself onto the ground and clung on tightly. Leon had stabbed his sword in the ground and was holding on. Gwaine, however, was launched into the air, landing on the ground with a thud.

"That's what you get for choosing a frying pan!" Arthur yelled as he swung his sword at the sorcerer. The sorcerer stepped out of the way, eyes burning gold.

" **Hleap on-** " The sorcerer have a cry as he was forced to stop his spell in fear of getting hit. The sword was blunted, and wouldn't cause any fatal damage, but it could still cause serious injury.

Since the sorcerer was preoccupied with Arthur, he had failed to notice Leon had pulled his sword out of the ground and was now swinging along with Arthur. The sorcerer's eyes turned gold again and, without saying anything, both swords went flying out of each knight's hands.

Arthur was now clenching his fists and going in for a punch. Using this as a distraction, Leon went off to go and get his sword. Focusing his attention on Arthur so that his spell wold have more power, the sorcerer's eyes glowed gold again.

" **Astrice!** "

It was the same spell, but since all of his attention was now on Arthur, it was a lot more powerful. He was flung backwards, being tossed even further away from his sword.

The sorcerer was marching up to him. Arthur backed up, scanning the area for his sword. Learning that it was out of his reach, he scowled, turning his attention back to the sorcerer.

"And now, the final blow!" The sorcerer announced theatrically, his eyes flickering gold in preparation for a spell. Suddenly, a loud bang echoed and the sorcerers face turned stunned and dazed. As he flopped to the ground, unconscious, Gwaine was revealed, smirking triumphantly as he twirled the frying pan around in his hand.

"I have got to get me one these!" Gwaine laughed.

Arthur scowled, "I am not training my knights in the art of frying pans." 

Gwaine shrugged, "Suit yourself."

Leon, who had recovered his sword, marched back up to them.

"Not bad, Gwaine," Leon smiled, "Looks like the frying pan isn't entirely useless."

Gwaine patted his shoulder and the three made their way back to Merlin and the Rivkah servants.

"I guess the frying pan is better than you thought it was," Merlin smirked at Arthur. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It was a lucky shot. I seriously doubt you'd be able to win a duel with a frying pan."

Gwaine laughed, "It doesn't matter now. Well, 50, 40 and Merlin should be enough to get us to the next round. I say we can focus on heading to the nearest gate now."

The three nodded, agreeing. Not knowing where the closest gate was and unable to use Merlin's magic to see the path ahead, they picked a direction and started to walk. Merlin, being Merlin, had become fast friends with the Rivkah servants, and was now trying to pry more information out of them.

"I saw servants running from contestants in the arena while I was running. Why do some servants struggle and some don't?" Merlin asked. The servants looked at each other.

"The knights in Rivkah's army are incredibly powerful, and their are some of them who aren't exactly modest about it. They push us around and mistreat us, and this tournament is the only chance for us to show some resistance."

"I see," Merlin nodded along, "Which is why you aren't resisting us?"

"That's right," Another servant smiled, "I had been caught by another contestant, but Arthur stopped and fought him. He won fair and square and then asked me if I would like to join him. He didn't drag me, force me to come or anything. By the looks of the other two, I think it's safe to say that Camelot knights are far more noble than Rivkah knights. We may not be able to help in the long run, but we can help you get through the preliminaries at least."

"It's appreciated." Arthur joined in the conversation, "Thank you."

The servants smiled, "With all of us combined, we should be enough to get you into the sixteen that pass."

"Either way," Gwaine spoke, "I think it'd be better if you passed through the gate with Merlin and I pass the gate with 40 points, Arthur. You'll get through no matter what, even if it turns out our points aren't enough."

"Nonsense!" Arthur scoffed, "You saved him didn't you Gwaine? Therefore you should pass the gate with him."

"But 40 points may not be enough." Gwaine argued.

"You managed to rescue Merlin, therefore you should be the one to take him through the gate." Arthur shot back. Gwaine sighed.

"What would happen if you didn't make it through the preliminaries, Arthur?" Leon piped up, "King Deslin would think lesser of you and maybe decide not to sign the agreement. This tournament isn't all about fun, we have to think about King Deslin's opinion of you. If you make it through the gate with the most valuable player, then he'll start to admire you. Not making it through while your knights do could be a different story entirely."

Arthur sighed, "I suppose you're right. Guess I'm stuck with you, Merlin."

"Please," Merlin scoffed, "You wouldn't have it any other way."

Arthur laughed, "I guess not." He admitted.

"Sire!"

Recognising the voice, Arthur looked up to see a figure in front of him, "Lancelot!"

"Lance!" Merlin grinned, running up to him, "So we were heading east?"

"You were." Lancelot nodded. A servant joined him.

"50 points?" Gwaine asked, noticing the meteor bracelet attached to his wrist.

"The poor guy was being attacked by a sorcerer, even when it was clear that the servant refused to use his weapon."

The servant gave a sheepish smile at the confused glances, "I didn't want to use a weapon. My purpose is to serve, not to fight. I would have gone with him willingly if he had just listened to me. Luckily, one of your knights jumped in to help me," He explained.

As the Rivkah servants reunited, the Camelot knights and Merlin did the very same.

"How far is the East gate from here?" Leon asked. Lancelot looked back in the direction he had come from, frowning.

"I'm not entirely sure," Lancelot shook his head, "But it's quite the walk."

"I see." Leon hummed, "You've got quite a few points, do you want to join us walking back through the gate?"

"Of course, the more the merrier." Lancelot smiled, "I was actually looking for you. When I entered the arena, the first thing I did was look for Merlin's tracks and follow them. I encountered the servant on my search. He's a good kid."

"I should have waited for you, I'm sorry." Merlin apologised, turning to him. Lancelot shook his head again.

"No, you were right to look for Prince Arthur. I would have done the very same thing if I were in your position," Then, his smile fell, "Just out of curiosity, what bracelet did you pull?" Merlin grinned as he showed Lancelot the bracelet and whipped out the sewing needle. Lancelot laughed, "You never did have the best luck."

"I guess not." Merlin frowned, his eyes smiling.

"Hey, Lance! Check this out!" Gwaine pulled his frying pan out, Arthur making no move to disguise his loud sigh.

"You got that out of the draw? I must say, it suits you." Lancelot said, watching him in amusement.

"Come on, we'd better get going," Arthur ordered, scowling at the frying pan, "It's late in the competition, so there'd be plenty of alliances bigger then ours. I say we move forward now."

Receiving a series of nods in return, the group continued.

"Any idea where Elyan and Percival are?" Leon asked, looking around for the familiar movement of red cape between the trees.

"The servant said that they would be entering through the arena by the North gate," Arthur remembered, "They can handle themselves though, we'd be wasting time if we just went looking for them."

They fell silent, all of them still on the lookout for any Rivkah alliances that may challenge them. Whilst they saw rather large groups fighting over servants and their point total, none of the Rivkah contestants seemed interested in them anymore, but rather their own scores.

"Alliances will be breaking up by now." Leon muttered, watching a group fight over a cowering bunch of servants, "Betray each other and take the other's points and add it to their total."

"If these Rivkah soldiers betray each other so much, then how are they supposed to trust each other when it comes to a proper battle?" Gwaine wondered aloud. A servant turned to him.

"They don't. A lot of the knights in the Rivkah army are independent and reliable on their own power, since they're all incredibly powerful beings in their own right. Since they're under King Deslin's control and can't rebel against him, they settle for rebelling against each other."

"That's no way to treat an army." Arthur scolded, his hand gripping on the hilt of his sword. Merlin smiled proudly at the admiration and respect that he found in the servants' eyes when they looked at Arthur. Arthur, on the other hand, was too wrapped up in his anger to notice.

They continued to march on through the woods, Merlin growing more confident the more people passed them without conflict, their own servants in tow. As long as Merlin kept the moon stone hidden beneath his sleeve, they would be fine.

Time passed and eventually the East gate came looming into view.

"There!" Lancelot said, pointing, "We all have 40 or more points, that should be enough!"

"Then let's go!" Arthur ordered. They went onwards, starting to walk faster. The group then came to a shuddering halt as Merlin was tackeled from behind by a Rivkah contestant. The world rushed up to meet him as Merlin crashed to the ground, shouting in surprise at the sudden weight of him. Amongst the commotion, Merlin heard one of the servants shout, "Boar!"

Sure enough, the very first person Merlin had encountered in the arena was on top of him and pulling him to his feet. Merlin squashed the spell that had instinctively come into his mouth, knowing that it would uncover him.

Instead, he could feel Arthur pushing himself into Boar, throwing him to the group and forcing him to release his grip on Merlin. He backed up, watching Arthur and Boar get up with weapons drawn, Arthur trying his best to hack at Boar's rope with his sword.

Merlin watched them with bated breath, cursing the fact he wasn't able to do anything. Gwaine was about to march in to join Arthur when he gave an exclamation of surprise as fire leapt towards the group. Withdrawing their swords, Lancelot and Leon leapt to the sides, scanning for the threat.

It wasn't long before they had their swords pointed at a familiar young woman with ginger hair. She was scowling at Gwaine, who was now standing in front of Merlin.

"You!" Byrne accused, "You're the one who knocked me out!"

"At your service!" Gwaine gritted out, digging his feet into the ground as the flames died down around him. Leon and Lancelot faltered slightly as several more sorcerers and their servants stepped out. The East gate towered over them all, watching in amusement.

Merlin wasn't bothered by that. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the scuffle that was happening between Arthur and Boar. Boar had now managed to lasso the rope around Arthur's sword and was trying to rip it out of his grip. Without stopping to think, Merlin charged in and stabbed Boar in the bicep. Boar stopped and cast a quick, confused glance at him. However embarrassing, the moment had granted Arthur enough time to shake his sword free. Realising his mistake, Boar shook Merlin off and readied himself for another round.

"Arthur this isn't important!" Merlin pleaded, "We just need to get through the gate!"

Arthur didn't answer, just swiped his sword at him. Merlin had noticed that the attack didn't have any spite behind it: Arthur was using the attacks as a warning. Sure enough, he was trying to take steps towards Merlin and the others.

The two other sorcerers that had stepped out with Byrne came forward and Lancelot and Leon knew what they had to do. There was no point in expelling energy, not when they were so close. Instead the adopted a strategy similar to Arthur's: trying to manoeuvre while fighting their opponent.

Arthur caught up to him, keeping Boar at bay with his sword. Boar was swinging his rope around recklessly, aiming to throw one of the rocks attatched to Arthur's face.

" **Astrice!** "

The call came from behind them, and Merlin had a split second to act. He grabbed Arthur and ducked, a wind whipping over him and taking Boar off his feet. The spell had come from the sorcerer who had taken on Lancelot, but Merlin didn't have time to worry about that now.

"Arthur! Run!" Merlin shouted. He scrambled to his feet, dragged Arthur with him and ran, oblivious to the fights that were happening around him. Since neither of the two sorcerers knew Merlin had the moon, none of them made a move to stop him. Arthur eventually found his feet and ran ahead, pulling Merlin's arm.

"Stop them!" Merlin could hear Byrne scream, but Gwaine was ready.

"Not so fast!" He warned, smashing her in the side with his frying pan. Arthur and Merlin carried onward, feet thudding the ground.

Desperate for breath, sunlight burst around them, so bright that it forced Merlin to squint. In all the panic, in all the struggle, a single thought squeezed to the front of Merlin's mind.

They had made it.

Back in the arena, Byrne screamed in frustration, whirling around on Gwaine.

"That hurt!" She snarled. Behind her, the servants she had already gathered cowered in fear, not daring to run away, "You'll pay for that."

Her eyes blared gold and flames whipped around Gwaine. Pointing his frying pan at the flame he deemed the closest, he wafted it at it. It blew around a little, but otherwise stayed the same. Gwaine held his breath, trying not to inhale the smoke. Behind the flames he could see Byrne grinning.

As he struggled for any means of escape, a silhouette in the smoke appeared, tackling Byrne and throwing her to the ground, the flames dying away as the spell lost effect. Gwaine relaxed as he realised that it was Percival approaching him.

"My hero." Gwaine grinned, shaking Percival's hand. Ever the man of few words, Percival returned the grin and the two whipped round, ready to fight together back to back.

Byrne clambered to her feet, whipping around to face Boar.

"Where'd they go?" He roared.

"You let them run!" She screamed back, "We need to move!"

Boar snarled, but Byrne cut him off, "Listen to me for once! Let's go!"

Grumbling, Boar bit his tongue. Snatching their respective servants, the two made their way to the East gate, Byrne looked behind her, "You two! Move it!"

The sorcerer that had been duelling against Lancelot perked up. Seeing no reason to keep him fighting, Lancelot stepped back and let the man retreat with the servants he had captured. Lancelot watched as the three made it through the Eastern gate with their servants.

"Hey, Lance!" Elyan greeted, "Good to see you!"

"Elyan!" Lancelot smiled his greetings, "You came here with Percival?"

"Yeah. We got our fair share of points if I do say so myself." He smiled smugly.

Several inches away, Percival and the final sorcerer of the alliance were locked in combat. In his peripherals, Percival had seen what Lancelot had done and made a decision. He had gathered a fair amount of points, most likely enough to make him through to the next round. Socking the sorcerer in the jaw as soon as the chance arose, he ran up to Lancelot.

"I think it's time we got out!" Percival said, jerking his head to the East gate, "Before other sorcerers get there first."

"You're right!" Lancelot replied. Without waiting for anything else, Percival ran on and made it to the gate. Lancelot was right behind him, but panic rose up as he heard a shout from behind.

" **Wace ierlic!** " The sorcerer behind him screamed, and the momentum and the wind combined threw Lancelot off his feet. He quickly recovered, scowling slightly at the sorcerer who had now run past him and was reaching the gate. Knowing there was nothing he could do about it, he checked to see if his servant was okay and made his way toward the gate, unable to help himself from worrying about the three knights still fighting, and why they were taking so long.

Gwaine frowned, unsure of how to handle this newcomer. She had blonde hair that curled around her shoulders, red lips and a dangerous-looking whip that coiled around her arm.

"You're not going anywhere near that gate before me."

"Ladies first." Gwaine shrugged. The lady was squinting at him suspiciously, trying to decide if there was something up his sleeve. Gwaine held up his hands, his signature lazy grin donning his face. The lady had taken a cheap shot to his head, but he wasn't complaining, he had dished out his fair share of those as well.

"I suppose there's no point in fighting you." She mused to herself, eyeing the servants that had agreed to stay by Gwaine's side on Arthur's orders. "Well," she straightened, looking him up and down, not for the first time, "See you around."

"I hope so," Gwaine beamed at her, waggling his eyebrows. She gave a sultry smirk and ran off. Gwaine watched her a while before surveying the scene before him. The mysterious lady had snuck up on him with two sorcerers in two, who were now in combat with Leon and Elyan.

"You sure you guys can handle yourselves?" Gwaine asked them, "You never know when you need a frying pan!"

"A what?" Elyan threw at him, holding his footing as a sorcerer threw a stunning spell at him.

"We're fine!" Leon shouted at him, "Now go!"

"Suit yourself!" Gwaine grinned. He would have stayed if he knew his fellow knights, but it looked like the two could handle themselves. Laughing, he ran towards the gate.

Fortunately, what Leon hoped was his final opponent in the preliminaries was a knight and not a sorcerer, which was a good thing, since he could feel himself running out of breath. Clashing swords, Leon examined his opponent, keeping an eagle eye on any openings.

Determination giving him a burst of energy, Leon pressed forward, pushing the knight back with the strength in his strikes. With a final yell, Leon managed to knock the man onto the ground.

As he was about to turn and head for the gate, Leon gave another shout of surprise as mud blinded him. Before he knew what was going on, Leon was on the ground, helplessly wiping mud from his eyes as his opponent retreated towards the gate.

Realising his opponent had played dirty and thrown mud in his eyes, Leon could feel anger rising in him.

"Leon!" Elyan's call made him forget his anger immediately, "Go!"

"What about you?" Leon faltered.

"I can handle myself, now go!"

"That's not what we stand for, Elyan!"

"We're not in a battle, we're in a tournament!" Elyan shouted, "And I'm not about to spoil your chances. Now go, please!"

Nodding to his servant, Leon cast one last glance back at Elyan before making his way to the gate.

He had underestimated the sorcerer, but Elyan wasn't going to tell Leon that.

" **Oferswing!** "

The spell took Elyan off his feet and slammed him into a tree, taking his breath out of him. Clutching his sword, he gritted his teeth as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Sir Elyan? Are you okay?" One of the servants that had agreed to join ran up to him, helping him up.

"I'm fine." He sighed, watching the retreating figure of the sorcerer. He knew that there was no point to fight anymore. That the 16 slots were filling up fast. However, having an opponent retreat on him didn't stop the anger simmering in his stomach.

"Sir Elyan?" The servant chimed, albeit a bit nervously, "We need to go. We don't have that much time."

"You're right." Elyan agreed. Gritting his teeth, he placed a hand on his shoulder and limped to the gate, off to join the others to see the results of the Preliminary round.


	8. A scoreboard full of matches

Merlin collapsed onto the floor, panting hard. Above him, Arthur was regarding him irritably.

"Oh come on, Merlin," Arthur rolled his eyes, "We didn't run that fast."

"Well... that..." Merlin breathed, swallowed then tried again. Arthur watched in amusement.

"Perhaps I should get you to run more often," He smirked, "It's probably the most efficient way I've come across in shutting you up."

Merlin glared at him, but didn't say anything. As soon as they had burst out of the gate, the same woman from the beginning approached Merlin and took the sewing needle and the moon bracelet from him.

"Congratulations, Prince Arthur," She smirked as she saw the blue stone, "You're onto the next round."

"Thank you," Arthur pulled out one of his most charming smiles. Merlin stared at him, baffled, wondering for all the world on how Arthur wasn't out of breath.

Now, the two were sprawled out on the lawn near the entrance. Or at least, Merlin was. Arthur was standing over him, wondering for all the world on how Merlin was this out of breath.

They were interrupted in their arguing by three Rivkah contestants: Byrne, Boar and another member of their group, stumbled out into the sunlight with the servants they had collected. The woman took the note of the points, collected the bracelets and weapons from the servants, but allowed the contestants to keep the weapons that they had pulled.  
Merlin hadn't missed the glances that Boar and Byrne cast their way during this, and he knew that Arthur hadn't either.

"Why did the woman let them keep their weapon?" Merlin asked, the same sickening feeling of worry once again rising in him.

"Not sure." Arthur had taken his gaze of the Rivkah group and was now looking at the gate in worry, "What's taking them so long?"

As if on que, Percival burst out, flanked by his servants.

"Percival!" Merlin grinned, waving at him. Percival returned the smile and was about to go over to them when he was stopped by the woman to retrieve the servants and keep a tally  
of his score.

When he was finished, he walked over to them.

"Sire," He nodded to Arthur in greeting, "How long have you guys been here?"

"Not long." Arthur answered, "We've only been here a few minutes."

"I must have just missed you then," Percival figured, "Me and Elyan were making our way to the nearest gate before we saw the others fighting and we thought we'd help out."

"So? How many points did you get then?" Merlin nudged him playfully. Percival smirked at him.

"60. I came across a few servants that were travelling in a group and I asked them if they wanted to join me and Elyan. They agreed and their total amounted to 60."

They fell into silence as they watched a Rivkah burst out of the gate. Percival looked at Merlin wrist and saw the lack of a bracelet.

"So?" Percival brought up, "How many points did you get?"

Arthur grinned, putting his arm around Merlin's shoulders, "Merlin here, with all of his ridiculous luck, managed to get the moon bracelet."

"The moon?" Percival laughed, "That means you're through to the next round already, right?"

"Yes." Arthur nodded.

"Sire!" The trio looked up.

"Lancelot!" Arthur greeted as the knight walked up to greet him, the servant he had helped already accounted for, "How are they others doing?"

"Alright when I checked, Sire." Lancelot answered, "I think a second group ambushed them when they were trying to get through."

"Oh." Merlin frowned as a sorcerer he didn't recognise stalked through the gate, not seeming to be out of breath at all. Since his attention was focused on the mysterious sorcerer  
who had managed to get out before any of the knights, Merlin hadn't noticed that Arthur's arm still lingered around his shoulders. Having noticed the stare, the sorcerer turned around and winked at Merlin. Arthur saw Merlin flush, but decided not to say anything.

"Gwaine!" Merlin suddenly exclaimed, a smile breaking out over his face as the knight appeared, "What took you so long?"

"Got held up I'm afraid," Gwaine shrugged, the woman approaching him and examining the bracelets his servants had on. He jerked his head in the direction of the female sorcerer, who had chosen to keep her whip.

"You fought her?" Merlin asked, flicking his gaze between the two, "That couldn't have gone very well."

Gwaine swatted Merlin's arm but didn't make a comment, "We didn't fight. We both thought that we'd racked up enough points to just be able to get out of there. Oh, here." He said this last bit to the woman who had asked if he would like to keep his weapon. Gwaine shook his head and gave her the frying pan. 

"Returning the frying pan? I'm shocked." Merlin grinned. Gwaine returned it.

"Not for the long haul, I'm afraid. It was fun while it lasted. The woman's going around asking the contestants if they want to fight in the second round with the weapon that they drew, but I think I'll have a better chance with my sword."

Merlin smiled, watching with the knights as another contestant stumbled out.

"Look at that," Percival noticed, nodding his head towards the sword, "Seems like their are other knights that have a chance of getting to the next round."

"Perhaps," Arthur nodded, then, frowning, "I wonder if it's like this at all the gates. If there's just one contestant coming out one after the other."

"Maybe." Lancelot shrugged, "I suppose we'll find out in good time."

Arthur was about to reply when Leon stumbled out in a daze, blinking rapidly.

"Leon!" Arthur's face fell as he ran up to him, "What happened?"

Leon's face was covered in mud. He took a second to bid goodbye to the servant before he was wiping at it, trying to get it out of his eyes, "The knight that came out before me," He explained, "We were fighting and he threw mud at me to catch me unawares. I'm sorry, Sire, I let my guard down. It won't happen again."

"Don't apologise, it wasn't not your fault!" Arthur grit his teeth, eyebrows knitting in anger and disappointment, "Looks like he's not going to be as strong as we thought after all." 

"Well, a tournament's only fun if there's a bit of drama." Gwaine grinned, "I'll go get some water, I'll be right back."

Gwaine jogged off. For the time being, Merlin settled by taking off his neckerchief and wiping at the mud as best as he could, all of them failing to notice the sorcerer that came out of the gate.

"Thanks Merlin." Leon blinked, wiping a smear of dirt that Merlin had missed of his cheek.

"Leon!" Came a call from behind them. They turned to see Elyan jogging up behind them, clutching his shoulder slightly, "What happened?"

"I could say the same to you." Leon nodded to his shoulder, which Elyan was now rubbing absent-mindedly.

"Just an ache, the sorcerer threw me into a tree," Elyan glanced at the sorcerer who he had fought in the arena, "And? What about you?"

"I got tricked, got some mud thrown at me." Leon grimaced, as if embarrassed he could let himself get tricked like that.

"He played dirty? Is that allowed?" Elyan frowned. Leon shrugged.

"It was opportunity for contestants to show what they could do when in a tight spot with an unfamiliar weapon so that they could catch King Deslin's eye, I'm sure the trick would be admired rather than looked down upon." Leon wondered aloud, "Besides, it's nothing, I'm fine."

"Damn right, you are! You always were a fighter." Gwaine said, returning with some water. Merlin gave him a grateful grin and dipped his neckerchief in it.

"We're all fighters." Arthur stepped in, watching Merlin clean away the mud a lot easier now that he was working with damp cloth, "And I don't recall there ever being a time when we let some mud slow us down."

"That's because it never happened, Sire." Lancelot nudged him playfully, a small smile on his face.

Arthur nodded, then looked behind him and lowered his voice, "So whatever King Deslin is hiding, whatever tricks he has up his sleeve, we'll be ready for him."

"You bet your ass we will." Gwaine said a little too loudly, earning a sharp nudge from Percival.

"Didn't you say you sent a letter to Gaius?" Percival turned to Merlin, who was swirling his neckerchief in the water again, "How long to you reckon that'll take to arrive?"

"Aithusa should have gotten there by now." Merlin nodded, "Either Gaius is still looking for an answer or she's on her way back."

A silence followed while Arthur did a head count, "Well, that's all off us." He sighed, "The best thing to do now is wait until all the other contestants make it through."

As soon as they cleaned away the dirt as best as they could, the knights sat down on the grass and talked about their experiences in the preliminary round.

"You stabbed someone with a sewing needle?" Elyan asked.

"I'm not entirely useless." Merlin smiled.

"That's debatable." Arthur grumbled under his breath. Merlin smacked him. 

Elyan turned his head towards them, "So? What did you think, Sire?" He asked, "Think that sort of competition could be integrated into Camelot?"

Arthur frowned, "Perhaps. Though I didn't approve of the way that some of the contestants treated the servants. Being able to manhandle the servants like that would cause superiority into the knights and would make them mistreat the servants, not only in the tournament, but in daily life as well."

"Maybe with animals?" Gwaine suggested, "Sheep, maybe?"

"What?" Merlin disproved, "You want to chase an animal blindly around an arena and scare the poor thing half to death? Anyway, capturing a sheep would mean you'd then have to carry it around with you. That's not going to happen."

The knights laughed at the image that Merlin's description had conjured, but they ultimately agreed.

"Perhaps jousting and swordsmanship is what's best for Camelot." Lancelot said what they were all thinking, and Arthur smiled approvingly.

"I think you're right, Lancelot."

"Attention, all contestants!"

The call that came from the usher caused them all to sit up and look at her as she continued, "We've received word from other gates that all other contestants have made it through and all contestants now have a score to their name." She announced. They waited with bated breath as she paused, "We will now be bringing these scores together and deciding which 16 will be going to the next round. Please bear in mind that speed will also be evaluated, and an extra 10 points will be gifted to the first 10 that made it out of the arena."

"What?" Merlin whispered as the woman stepped down from her platform, "They didn't mention that earlier."

Elyan shrugged, "Well, you saw what just happened. Contestants just piled out of this gate one after the other, maybe it was the same for others. Maybe they need to add a few more points to the contestants who deserve it so that they can differentiate people with similar scores."

Merlin sighed, but didn't answer.

"Prince Arthur!" At the sound of a familiar voice, Arthur shot up of the ground and straightened, quickly brushing off blades of grass.

"King Deslin!" Arthur greeted, trying not to sound to choked and alarmed, "It's an honour to see you here."

"I must say, you gave quite a show." King Deslin grinned, "Your own servant having the moon bracelet! What are the odds?"

"Yes." Arthur smiled politely, "You were watching then?"

"Yes, my apologies, I should have made it more clear. I have magic of my own, I was able to see whatever I wished."

"You do? And yet you've outlawed it in your own kingdom? Forgive me, I'm confused." Arthur shook his head, unable to stop the confusion leaking out from his smile.

"Well, I'm the king, the laws don't apply to me." King Deslin said as if it were the most simplest thing in the world, "But I hardly use my own magic anyway. I don't need to, not when I have an entire army to destroy who I need to kill and servants who can use magic for me."

Arthur nodded, making sure that Merlin was behind him. He didn't want any more reasons for this king to become interested in his servant.

"No matter what happens on the scoreboard, you're onto the next round either way," King Deslin said, "So why do you look so worried?"

Arthur's breath hitched. He hadn't looked worried. He hadn't looked worried at all. He was smiling. He was sure he was smiling.

"I'm just nervous for my knights that's all," He admitted truthfully, "There were people coming out one after another in our gate, and we don't know if it was the same for any of the others."

King Deslin shrugged, "From what I saw, the East gate was the busiest out of all of them. Who knows? You might get lucky."

The vague mystery of the last sentence left Arthur uncomfortable as King Deslin stalked off, but his thoughts were immediately interrupted by a loud horn.

"Attention all contestants!" The woman was once again standing on her platform, "We have finally gathered up all the scorings and have settled them. Because of this, we have decided the matches and are now announcing them. Behind me, you'll find that the servants are already carving them out.

Sure enough, Rivkah servants were now using their magic to carve names and matches into a board of wood.

"Since there are 16 if you, there will be 8 matches. After you have looked, their are carriages waiting to take you back to the castle. There, you will rest, as the first and second match commence tomorrow."

As she stepped down from her platform, the knights gathered around the wooden board, but didn't have to wait long for the servants to disperse, the list clear in front of them:

Match 1 - Prince Arthur v. Byrne

Match 2 - Percival v. Aiken

Match 3 - Boar v. Themison

Match 4 - Lancelot v. Lyriel

Match 5 - Leon v. Krymen

Match 6 - Gwaine v. Harold

Match 7 - Elyan v. Cinders

Match 8 - Tristan v. Amason

"Well, whaddya know?" Gwaine examined the scoreboard, "Looks like the scuffle we had at the Eastern gate really had an effect on the scoreboard."

"But that's not the order we left the arena," Merlin shook his head.

"I suppose it must be the points," Lancelot shrugged, "After all, Percival did get 60."

"And those other three must have exited through other gates." Leon guessed at the last three names.

"Well, our very own Princess and Percival are up tomorrow!" Gwaine chuckled, "I've had a few spats with Byrne myself. Watch out for her!"

"Noted, Gwaine." Arthur nodded, "You'll remember that I was there while you were fighting."

"Well if you two are up tomorrow, then it'd be best if you rest." Leon said, "And that may as well go for the rest of us as well.

Merlin cast one last glance at the scoreboard, wondering if King Deslin had received the results yet. He felt a surge of pride as he realised that all 6 of his knights had made it through, and he wondered if King Deslin felt the same for Byrne or for Boar, or whoever else was under his control. Were they willing? Did they want to make him proud as desperately as he wanted to make Arthur proud? Or were they indifferent? Or were they pleading for someone to help them, to wrench those disgusting collars of there necks? Not for the first time, Merlin wished that he could tell what everyone was thinking so that he could know who needed help.

"I bet Merlin could take Byrne out with his hands tied behind his back!" Elyan remarked, snapping Merlin out of his thoughts."

"With my legs tied actually," Merlin corrected, "And a sewing needle."

"Your legs were tied?" Arthur scrunched his face up in disbelief.

"Well, they were, you saw the thing that Boar was carrying around." Merlin backtracked, "But then I untied them."

"Right."

"And then I stabbed her."

"Got it."

"And then I saved the little damsel." Gwaine grinned, ruffling his hair.

"You all know I can take care of myself!" Merlin swatted Gwaine away like he was a fly.

"With a sewing needle?" Arthur interrupted, self-consciously glancing around to check if anyone was listening.

"Precisely!"

They were now walking back to the carriages, the stone walls of the arena looming behind them.

"What was the name of your opponent, Percival?" Elyan asked.

"Aiken." Percival recalled, "Most likely one of the soldiers that were in alliance with Boar and Byrne."

"Then he's most likely another sorcerer."

Percival nodded, looking down at his feet. He had thought of that. He hadn't fought that many sorcerers in his time as a knight, but knew from experience how breath-takingly deadly they were, but had also learnt from Merlin how breath-takingly beautiful their spells could be. Merlin was a friend, and Percival understood that Merlin's magic was one of a kind. A pure kind that fluttered through nature like a butterfly. However, Percival also knew from Gaius' ramblings that Merlin's magic was a rarity, which also meant that any other sorcerer should be met with apprehension. He knew that Merlin would disagree with him, but Merlin hadn't had his village destroyed by Morgana and her renegade army of sorcerers. Therefore, Percival was tense when he wondered just what the capabilities of his opponent would be, and what his ideals were.

The rest continued their walk back in silence, Percival and Arthur in deep thoughts about there opponents, Merlin deep in thought about the motives of King Deslin, Lancelot and Elyan were missing Guinevere's sweet, beaming smile and Leon was thinking about Rivkah's knights, and if they were as honourable as they claimed them to be. One carriage was left for them when they finally arrived, the other Rivkah contestants and servants having walked down the path at a much quicker pace than them. They clambered in wordlessly as their driver set off, the horses neighing and trotting in the gravel being the only sound in the silence. 

Arthur was looking out of the window, the final flares of the sunset reminding him of all of Byrne's spells as he tried to recall them all in preparation for tomorrow. He glanced at Merlin, wondering if he should ask him for help when they got back. Either way, they knew that they all had a few eventful days lied up for them as they sat in the carriage, all worried, all exhausted and all suspicious of what was to come.


	9. A battle full of burns

The morning came all to quickly, and Merlin found himself rising with the sun, the vibrant oranges spreading across the sky reminding him all to well of the match Arthur had today. He scanned the sky once more, looking for any signs of Aithusa, before turning and heading into the prince's chambers.

"Rise and shine!" Merlin called as he wrenched the curtains wide open.

Arthur flinched at the bright light and turned on his side. Merlin watched with disapproval.

"Could you at least give me some warning before you blind me?" Merlin could hear Arthur grumble from beneath the sheets. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Come on, up!" Merlin walked over to the bed, "You've got to get dressed."

Arthur didn't move. Merlin sighed.

"You do remember you have a match today?"

Arthur stiffened, and then practically leapt out of bed, diving behind the screen to change into something he could eat in. When he emerged in a red shirt and the same sleeping trousers, he shrugged at Merlin.

"Well, don't just stand there, Merlin! I've got a match today." Arthur exclaimed.

Merlin didn't move, "You're dressed!"

"Thank you for noticing, Merlin," Arthur deadpanned, "However, if you did actually care to pay attention, you'll find that I am not ready at all."

Merlin was about to ask what he was going on about when he saw that the laces on Arthur's shirt were open, revealing his collar bone. Merlin did his best to hide his blush and approached, starting to tie the two pieces of strong together with deft fingers, all the while staring at Arthur's collar bone. A sly grin spread across his face.

"You don't actually know how to tie these, do you?" Merlin smirked. Arthur looked at him in disbelief.

"Of course I know how to tie my own shirts." Arthur scoffed, "I'm not an idiot."

"Jury's still out for that one, I'm afraid," Merlin muttered under his breath, earning him a smack on the head, "So, why do you need me to do it?"

"Because you're my servant."

Merlin shook his head, "You can't do them can you."

"Of course I can, but it just so happens to be your job!"

"You got yourself dressed for once, why didn't you just tie it yourself?"

Arthur narrowed his eyes at this. Merlin raised his eyebrows in challenge.

"I'm the prince of Camelot, Merlin, I think you'll find that I don't have to answer ridiculous questions like yours."

Then, after he tugged at the knot to make sure it was tied properly, Arthur marched over to the table and sat down, just as a knock came at the door. Merlin collected the plates, nodded his thanks and joined Arthur at the table, setting the two plates down with a sigh.

"Do you know of Aithusa's progress?"

Merlin shook his head, "No. It's only been 8 days though, she should be on her way back by now."

Arthur nodded, but didn't say anything more. Merlin examined him cautiously.

"Do you think you're prepared for the match today?"

Arthur looked at him and straightened, actually giving the question some thought, "I think I'll give her a challenge."

"Do you actually think you'll win?" Merlin inquired. Arthur sighed.

"I'm not sure. Whatever happens, I can't say I'm not prepared."

Merlin considered the answer with a nod. As soon as they had returned to the prince's chambers, Arthur had turned around and asked Merlin about every fire spell that he knew of. After demanding that Merlin list all the ones that he thought she would use in battle and a brief description of what they did, he had spent most of the night studying the list word for word.

"You sure you remember them?" Merlin asked.

"I remember most of them," the prince corrected, "I haven't seen so much gibberish before in my life.

Merlin snorted, "That was my first thought when I opened my spell book."

Arthur looked up from his bacon, "You mean the one Gaius gave you?"

"That's it. Gave it to me shortly after the second time I saved your life, with the old lady and the sleeping spell."

Arthur's eyebrows knitted, "Second time?"

Merlin nodded, "Of course. The first was when I saved your life of embarrassment when I allowed you to defeat me in the market."

Arthur snorted, "Right."

"I mean it," Merlin said seriously, "If it weren't for Gaius, I would have won."

"You cheated, you were using magic."

"I was using my advantages!"

"And yet you still lost."

Merlin sighed, "Either way, those spells are only ever going to be understood by people with magic. They may only ever look like a second language to you, but at least if you know some of the pronunciations you can guess what attack is coming."

Arthur nodded, picking at his bacon again. After a while of nervous silence, he spoke, "I wonder if I'll have to do more of this in the future."

Merlin looked at him curiously, "Fight sorcerers?"

"No," Arthur shook his head, "Study spells."

Merlin pondered him, unsure of where he was going with this, "Arthur, you don't have magic."

"I know that," Arthur rolled his eyes, "I meant if I'm going to legalise it then I'm going to have to study it."

Merlin stared at him. He knew that Arthur had considered legalising magic, but with his father, his reputation with the people and the end result of this tournament to worry about, Merlin knew that it was on the back burner, and wouldn't be happening for years to come.

"That's what you have me for," Merlin smiled, "I'll be able to tell you what the spells can do."

"That's just it, Merlin," Arthur sighed, "I want you to be in charge of making peace with the druids and magical creatures."

Merlin listened intently. This was it. This was the future he had worked so hard for.

"Which means that if I'm going to stay behind for courtly matters, it means that I'm going to need a basic understanding of it in case the need arises," Arthur explained, "If I'm going to be legalising something and the people find out that I don't understand anything about it, then they'll grow even more scared and riot. We can't afford that."

"I'll help you." Merlin said with nothing but sincerity, "You know I will."

Arthur gave a small smile, "You will take the position of Court Sorcerer when I grant it to you, won't you?"

Merlin froze, "I hadn't thought about that."

"Yet another item to add to the list of things you don't think about." Arthur smirked. Merlin laughed despite himself.

"Why are you thinking about this now?" Merlin asked, "You do have a tournament to win."

Arthur gave a laugh, shaking his head, "I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy," Merlin responded immediately, "I'm with you."

Arthur's smile was widest at that.

After their breakfast had been eating and Arthur had a quick once-over on the list of fire spells, he and Merlin left the room and made their way down to the tournament arena. 

They followed the clusters of audience down to the tournament ring and then made their way to the tent bearing the Camelot colours of red and gold, where the knights were already waiting for them.

"Nice of you to join us!" Gwaine greeted, slapping Arthur's back. Merlin nodded his greeting and made his way to Arthur's armour and sword, which were ready and waiting, courtesy of Rivkah servants.

"You didn't tell me you were going to be here!" Arthur laughed, a pleasantly surprised smile on his face.

"What did you expect? We wouldn't miss this for the world." Lancelot piped up. The others hummed in agreement. Arthur shook his head, amazed. How he had deserved this much loyalty within his Inner Circle and his servant, he would never know.

"You guys will never stop surprising me." Arthur grinned, looking at them all in turn. He then made eye contact with Merlin, to make sure that his beloved servant knew he was included in that. Arthur's heart fluttered when Merlin beamed at him.

"Of course! Gotta keep you on your toes somehow!" Gwaine wrapped an arm around him, "It'll be no fun if we just did what we were told."

"You're beginning to remind me of someone I know." Arthur smirked.

"Really? Can't imagine who." Merlin joined in, holding Arthur's armour up, "Sire?"

Gwaine let go off Arthur and the knights respectfully retreated, discussing Percival's match. Merlin stepped forward and began putting on Arthur's armour. Arthur allowed himself to relax into Merlin's touch, muttering the fire spells over and over under his breath, not unlike a spell itself. Merlin heard him and smiled to himself as he tied the straps, remembering the conversation they had at breakfast. Court Sorcerer. He had to admit, it had a nice ring to it.

"The stands are filling up." Leon reported as he drew back the flap of the tent, "The match will begin any minute now."

As soon as he said it, Merlin stepped back, having finished dressing Arthur. After admiring his prince for a second, he then fetched Arthur's sword from the rack in the tent, where Percival's sword and armour were waiting for later.

"So," Arthur said, "Any last words of wisdom you've got in there, Merlin?"

Merlin bit his lip, "Um... don't get burned?" He tried.

Arthur deadpanned, "Thank you once again for bestowing your wise and whimsical knowledge onto us Merlin, we're truly not worthy." Merlin smiled at him sheepishly.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of milling around the tent, a horn blared and knights and servant looked up, knowing what it meant.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A male usher addressed roaring crowd, "The first match for today is the start of the first round. Please welcome one half of the Dynamite Dynamos, our beloved sorcerer Byrne!"

Deafening cries and cheers rung out as Byrne stepped out of her tent. Merlin wondered if she was worried about this match. If she had studied Arthur as thoroughly as Arthur had studied her.

"And all the way from Camelot, please welcome the noble Prince Arthur!"

Though the cheers were to a lesser extent, Arthur would take all the assurance he could get. Casting one last glance back at Merlin, he opened the flap of the tent and stepped forward into the ring.

This was more like it. The crowd were clapping and stamping their feet in approval, his opponent was standing to face him instead of them running around like sheep in a pen, and King Deslin was watching with an eagle eye instead of peering through the misty fog using magic.

Byrne was glaring at him with hatred in her eyes, her fists clenching like a candle fluttering in the wind. Arthur stood his ground and allowed a small smile. While anyone else would have turned and run under such a gaze, Arthur loved it. The way adrenaline rushed in him at the sight of it, the way excitement made his muscles tense and ready. His worries forgotten, Arthur drew his sword, ready for a fight.

"Bring it." He grinned confidently.

Just then, the sun peered out from behind a cloud to watch the match, and Arthur could have sworn that the red stone around Byrne's neck glowed for a second. However, when he blinked, it was gone. Instead, he watched as Byrne's eyes hardened with emptiness.

"Serve King Deslin." She muttered under her breath. At least, that's what Arthur thought he had heard. Was she really that loyal to him? To fight under his name in a competition meant for fun? Arthur shook the questions off, making a note to ask Merlin later. Now wasn't the time for questions. They made for poor weapons anyway.

The air was tense. The air was silent. The air was ready for a fight.

"Begin!"

The word had barely left the usher's mouth before Bryne was springing into action.

" **Mierre torr sweleophat!** "

Having a vague recollection of the spell, Arthur lunged out of the way as a huge explosion of flames went of like a landmine where he had been standing. Gasps of amazement were coming from the crowd. The flames that lingered were so bright and the heat so intense that Arthur had to remind himself that killing was against the rules, and that he was safe in that aspect.

" **Intend lig! Intend lig!** "

Arthur cursed himself for not acting sooner when the flames that were dying down now flared up again. Using his shield to try and block out the worst of the smoke, he got his sword and swung at Byrne.

Byrne, who had been granted a shield, blocked in such an awkward manner that Arthur could tell that Byrne had accepted the shield on a whim and didn't actually have any training with it. Taking advantage of this fact, he barged into her shield with his own, his full weight behind it. Shoving her shield out of the way, he swiped his blunted sword again, causing a shallow nick in her arm.

Byrne growled as she retreated, her eyes flickering gold in preparation for a spell. Arthur braced himself.

" **Ligfyr!** "

Arthur stepped back, but realised it wasn't necessary. A wall of fire sprung up, distancing himself for Byrne. Arthur gritted his teeth as he realised that this was giving her time to recover, and that he couldn't do anything about it. Once Byrne had regained her standing, the flames died down and Arthur charged again.

He swung his sword at her, Byrne once again using her shield to block, a lot more focused now that she had been given a chance to recover. Arthur kept swinging, making sure that he wasn't giving her enough time to cast a spell between strikes.

With a short yelp, Byrne finally dropped the shield that Arthur had been hacking at for minutes, and it rolled away. When Arthur was ready to point the sword at her neck, Byrne's eyes once again flashed gold.

" **Ahatian!** "

Arthur felt his sword grow hot and he instinctively dropped it. He was about to pick it up, but Byrne was ready.

" **Forbaerne yfel!** "

A circle of flames trapped Arthur, his sword lying helplessly on the other side of the circle. Byrne picked it up examining it. Arthur clutched onto his shield and tried wafting it at the flames. They moved slightly, but he didn't dare go anywhere near them. 

Byrne swung at him with his sword, the heat not affecting her, and Arthur blocked it with his shield. Again and again, blow after blow.

The heat was making everything worse. Arthur's limbs were beginning to feel like lead and the shield was getting more and more heavy with each blow. A few more blocks and then Arthur's strength slipped so much that the next strike managed to knock the shield into the flames for a few seconds. When Arthur quickly withdrew it, he realised with horror that his only means of defence was on fire. 

His time was running out.

Byrne continued swinging mercilessly and Arthur could do nothing but take it. The crowd roared and cheered at Byrne's onslaught, but if Arthur focused, he could still hear his knights and Merlin shouting encouragement. He gritted his teeth.

Byrne wasn't a swordsman. It was obvious by the way she held her sword. If she wasn't a good swordsman, then that meant her grip wouldn't be that great either. If he could just... Blocking another strike, Arthur then threw her of her rhythm by hitting her hand with his shield, which was purposefully angled in such a way that it made her loose her grip on his sword. Arthur grinned triumphantly and the crowd applauded as the sword flew to the side.

With no time to spare, Arthur chucked his flaming shield at Byrne, who gasped in surprise. With her attention divided, the flames encasing Arthur died down a little, causing his to leap over them unharmed and race over to collect his sword. During that time, Byrne had discarded the useless shield and, knowing that there was no stopping Arthur, picked up her own shield and prepared herself yet again.

Once more they stood face to face, Arthur with a wild grin on his face and Byrne with a small, determined smile.

" _She's starting to enjoy herself as well._ " Arthur thought, and he couldn't help but feel proud of himself for making someone enjoy themselves in something that he felt most at home doing.

Byrne made the first move yet again, her hand poking out from behind her shield.

" **Cume her fyrbryne!** "

Arthur remembered Merlin explaining that spell to him the previous nights, and so immediately lunged out of the way when a line of flames raced up to meet him, his cape only barely missing the flames.

He advanced, keeping a wary eye on his opponent. He straightened when he saw she was grinning. Why...?

With dawning realisation, he whipped around and saw the line had curved and was now rushing to meet him. Arthur leapt out of the way, but lost his balance and tumbled, ending up in a heap on the floor.

A second later and Byrne was on him, intending to bring her shield down on his head to knock him out. Arthur rolled out of the way, scrambling and ducking to avoid her swings. He swung his sword to meet with her shield and the two clashed so harshly that Arthur's arm stung, and he guessed that it was the same for Byrne, as the strike caused him just enough time to get up before she recovered.

It didn't take long for Arthur to realise that Byrne was in bad shape. She was breathing heavily, and sweat was pouring off her skin in buckets, and Arthur supposed that he looked the same. Either way, this fight wasn't going to last much longer, and he definitely wasn't going to lose.

With newfound vigour, Arthur began swinging again and again at her shield. He noticed that her eyes were taking longing to flicker gold, noticed that she was breathing so hard that she couldn't pronounce the spells clearly enough. He took advantage of this, not slowing down and not stopping to think.

If Arthur gave her enough time to pant out a spell, then he would be forced to move out of the way, and he wouldn't have the stamina to pull off another attack like this. It was all or nothing.

Again and again and again. Gwaine was cheering and the knights were cheering and Merlin was cheering and they kept pushing him forward, again and again until-

Byrne gave a grunt as the shield was knocked out of her hands. Not wasting a second, Arthur pointed his sword at her neck, and the crowd erupted.

Arthur held up his sword as the crowd jumped up and down. He laughed despite himself, waving at a kingdom that wasn't his own. He then lowered his eyes to meet Byrne's green ones. She was smiling, congratulating him on a job well done.

"You gave a good fight." Arthur panted. Byrne gave a breathy laugh, but then her eyes darted behind Arthur and her smile faded, her eyes returning to that hardening emptiness. Arthur turned to find King Deslin in the stands, applauding Arthur.

"Your majesty." Arthur nodded, trying his best to get his breathing back under control. He didn't want to show any weakness in front of this man.

"Prince Arthur!" King Deslin greeted, "A nice victory, I didn't expect anything less! You're onto the next round."

"Thank you." Arthur shouted over the roar of the crowd, "If you'll excuse me."

Arthur left the ring and walked over to where Merlin and the knights were waiting.

"That was amazing!" Merlin gushed, "I've never seen a knight last that long against a sorcerer!"

" _Adorable._ " Arthur couldn't help but think at the idiotic grin that was impossibly wide. Then, he spoke aloud, "Wait, you've never seen a knight last that long? Then how did you know I was going to win?"

Merlin shrugged, "I didn't."

Arthur scoffed.

"Princess!" Gwaine interrupted Arthur's answer as the knights ran up to meet him, "Quite the show I must say!"

"Anytime, Gwaine." Arthur returned the slap on the back the knight had given him.

"Percival? Think you're ready for your next match?" Leon turned to Percival, who was examining his sword.

"Should think so, yeah." He put bluntly, nodding.

"The man of few words, ladies and gentlemen." Gwaine said, placing his hand on top of Percival's head.

"At least I don't talk to much." Percival swatted Gwaine's arm away, "That would make me annoying."

Gwaine gasped in mock offense, putting a hand to his chest, "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean."

The group laughed and joked around until Arthur demanded it was time for dinner, and that he was to have it in his rooms. Dragging Merlin along with him, he suddenly remembered what had happened before the match, and the questions that he had filed away to ask Merlin. Hopefully, they would have some answers before Percival's match later that day.


	10. A shield full of defenses

Even after Merlin and Arthur had walked back to the prince's chambers, Merlin was talking about the fight.

"I got so scared when your shield caught on fire and she wouldn't stop hitting you, I thought you were going to drop it! And the line of fire that snuck up behind you, I didn't even know that was possible! I wonder if I could do that, not now, obviously but it could come in handy..."

Arthur smiled fondly as he let the ramblings of his servant become a distant noise in the background. A Rivkah servant had already been up to clean away their breakfast and replace it with lunch. For Arthur, a selection of bread, ham and cheese. For Merlin, a soup that looked like it was more water than soup. Arthur sighed, tossing one of his bread slices onto Merlin's plate when he was sure that his servant wasn't looking.

"Merlin." Arthur inturrupted whatever Merlin was talking about and held out his arms, "Change?"

"Oh! Right!" Merlin hurried over to where Arthur was and quickly got to work in helping Arthur out of his armour. After a blissful period of silence, Merlin started up again.

"Do you think King Deslin enjoyed it? I wonder why he isn't taking part in the tournament? I mean, he said he had magic, but that it wasn't very powerful..."

Arthur sighed as he zoned out, instead allowing himself to stare at Merlin's eyes as they narrowed in concentation, at his smile, which was so wide all the time he didn't know how it wasn't sore.

"Sire?"

Arthur blinked, "Merlin?"

"I finshed getting you out of your armour." Merlin was looking at him suspiciously. Arthur looked down to find that he was once again in the red shirt that he had changed into that morning. Realising he had been caught staring, he tried to cover his mistake with a cough.

"So you have," Arthur straightened, "Now we can have lunch."

Merlin's smile brightened even more as he only just noticed the lunch in the room. Arthur rolled his eyes, questioning, not for the first time, how the supposed 'most powerful warlock to ever walk the Earth' was also oblivious to everything.

Merlin sat down in front of the pitiful soup and dipped the bread in, starting before Arthur had even sat down. He considered chastising him for it, but decided against it. After all, Arthur was too bloody tired, and Merlin was too bloody cute.

"So, on the way here," Merlin spoke with his mouth full, "You said you had some questions?"

"I said that something strange happened before the fight, yes." Arthur clarified, nibbling at his ham. Merlin listened intently, urging him to continue.

"It was when me and Byrne was staring at each other, before the usher gave us the call to begin." Arthur explained, "The red stone around her collar, it began to... glow."

Merlin paused, "Glow? Like magic?"

"I think so. If we weren't certain of it before, then we are now."

Merlin stopped to think, his bread hovering over his soup, "Do you think it could be enhancing her magic? Fire spells are wild and incredibly hard to control, let alone manipulate. 

To think that she did so multiple times in one match shows that she must be an incredibly powerful sorcerer."

Arthur nodded. He didn't exactly know what the difference was between each kind of spell, so he took Merlin's word for it. For now, at least. He was going to have to start studying the dfferent types of magic when they got back to Camelot, after all.

"She said something as well," Arthur mentioned as soon as it occured to him, "Something like... serve King Deslin?"

"Serve King Deslin?" Merlin echoed, "She's loyal to him?"

"Perhaps," Arthur shrugged, not understanding how any of King Deslin's knights could be loyal to him, "Maybe she said it to gain his approval."

Merlin bit his lip. His bread had long gone now, the odd crumb littering his side of the table and leaving a mess. Now, Merlin picked up a spoon and started inhaling his soup.

"Why did she say serve?" Merlin wondered aloud, "She's a sorcerer. Sorcerers don't serve. Well. I mean..." He made a vague gesture towards himself before attacking his soup again.

"You mean like how she's a knight," Arthur corrected him. Merlin hummed.

"Why didn't she say "Fight for King Deslin?" Or something as equally ridiculous, like, "For the love of Rivkah?"

"Ridiculous, huh?" Arthur frowned and narrowed his eyes at Merlin. Oblivious to his mistake, Merlin continued ranting, "Plus, she didn't say anything like that in the preliminaries. She just shouted and screamed a lot-"

"Merlin." Arthur held up his hand in a gesture to stop, "There's a difference between theorising and oevrthinking. You're overthinking."

"Oh," Merlin said, lowering his spoon, "Sorry."

Arthur shook his head, resting his chin on his hand.

"There's another thing," He spoke up after a bit of silence, "Something changed in her eyes."

Merlin looked up, "Her eyes? You mean like they turned gold?"

"No, she didn't use magic or anything, they just... changed. One minute they were full of hatred, and the next they were just... empty? I'm not entirely sure how to explain."

Merlin swallowed, contemplating what his prince had just said, "Trick of the light?"

"I suppose." Arthur shrugged, though he knew that both he and Merlin didn't believe that for a second.

Merlin finished his soup and took a piece of ham from Arthur's plate, "Did she do anything strange during the battle?"

Arthur glared at him, but shook his head, "No. Or if she did, I didn't catch it. But there was something."

Merlin raised his eyebrow in silent encouragement. Arthur carried on.

"When I congratulated her, she smiled, like she had genuinely enjoyed herself. However, when she saw King Deslin behind me, her smile disappeared, and she looked angry again."

Merlin stopped eating, "She's scared of him."

"Possibly, but she definately doesn't like him."

Merlin waved his ham around in exasperation, "Then why did she say she wants to serve him?"

Arthur sighed, "I think the best thing we can do now is watch Percival's fight to see if we can spot any similarities between Aiken and Byrne."

"Not just that," Merlin shook his head, "But one of us also needs to keep an eye on King Deslin. I don't trust him enough to leave him unsupervised."

"You're right." Arthur said, rising, "Come on, we'd best go down and tell the knights."

"The knights?" Merlin asked, standing, "Don't you think that's risky? What if someone overhears us?"

"I know, but I'd rather they're all in on it." Arthur told him firmly, "That way we can keep our eyes peeled and decrease the chances of us missing anything. Besides, no more secrets, remember?"

Merlin tensed a little before nodding, a faint smile on his face as he left the room.

"Serve King Deslin?" Leon muttured after Merlin and Arthur had explained everything to the knights, "I suppose that is a little mysterious..."

"Maybe it's their salute? Perhaps King Deslin needs to hear their loyalty before going into battle?" Elyan suggested.

"Perhaps, but we don't have time to discuss it now." Arthur shook his head, "What we need is for Percival to look for these signs when he's fighting this Aiken. Now that we know what we're loking for, we may be able to get it in more detail."

"Me?" Percival said, looking up.

"That's right. You're up, big man." Gwaine threw an arm around his shoulders, "Seems like to get some more detail we're going to have to get up close and personal. That sounds like you're kind of fight."

"I'll keep an eye out." Percival nodded at his prince. Arthur smiled in approval.

"Good. Lancelot and Leon will be helping him observe Aiken from afar, and the rest of us will be watching King Deslin."

"All four of us?" Merlin asked sceptically, "If we all stare at him, he's going to get suspicious."

Arthur hummed, "Perhaps you can stare off vaguely into the distance like the idiot you are."

Merlin huffed, but didn't answer. Instead Arthur continued, "Clearly staring at him is going to be a bit to much. We'll just make sure that he doesn't disappear anywhere, or have any servants whisper something into his ear. It's true I'm not exactly sure what we're looking for, but I can't just turn a blind eye to my suspicions. I hope you'll help me." He finished. 

When he looked at Arthur, Merlin realised that with each passing day Arthur was looking less like a prince and more like a king. Once again, he felt a surge of pride.

"Whatever you say, Princess." Gwaine shrugged, "Happy to help."

"You know I'll do anything you ask of me, Sire." Elyan grinned.

"I think the same goes for all of us." Lancelot smiled, nodding at Arthur.

"Well, now that that's sorted, Percival, don't you think it's time you should be getting into your armour?"

Percival jerked up in surprise, clumsily fiddling with the straps, "Oh! Well, I, um..."

"Merlin," Arthur turned to his servant, "Help him out."

"Yes, Sire." Merlin grinned. Percival stood up in protest.

"Sire, I couldn't possibly-" He was cut off as Merlin took the straps off him and did them correctly, and then proceeded to help Percival into his armour.

It did take a lot longer than when he dressed Arthur, but that was mostly because Merlin wasn't used to strapping on an armour of Percival's size. Being able to do his straps correctly took some trial and error, in which Lancelot offered to help with, which was accepted greatly.

Eventually, after some once-over's by Merlin to make sure he had gotten everything right, Percival was good to go. Merlin fetched his sword and his shield from the rack and handed it to him, similing encouragingly.

"Do well out there." Merlin grinned, his eyes twinkling with merriment.

"Thank you." Perival stumbled for words, unsure of what to say. Merlin nodded and returned to Arthur's side. As soon as he did, the horn tore through the air and sent the murmuring crowd outside to silence. When the air was completely still, the usher spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He bellowed, "The second match of the day will now commence! A powerful young sorcerer from our very own army, the honourable Aiken!"

Polite cheers rang out from the crowd. Gwaine nudged Percival in encouragement and Percival stepped behind the tent flap.

"And an equally honourable knight from the famous Knights of Camelot, Sir Percival!"

Cheers rose once more as Percival stepped out, fighting nerves. Percival wasn't born for the spotlight like Arthur, and a small, awkward wave was all he could manage before he faced his opponent.

Staring at the sorcerer, at the young man in front of him, and pretending that the crowd wasn't there was much easier in Percival's opinion.

Trying to ignore the crowd as best he could, Percival held his shield at the ready and drew his sword. Remembering the things that Arthur told him to look out for, Percival examined the man opposite him closely. He looked completely ordinary. Brown hair, brown eyes and a smile that lit his face up entirely. Percival bit his lip. He was a sorcerer, but his smile was similar to Merlin's. Was he a sorcerer he could trust? A sorcerer who used his magic for good? It didn't matter now. They were going to fight anyway.

Then, as Percival blinked away a bright light, he saw movement on the sorcerer's lips.

"Serve King Deslin." That was it!

Percival looked back to see if the others had seen his lips move, and the way they briefly met his eyes told him all he needed to know.

Something was going on here. And Percival was going to help his friends get to the bottom off it.

"Begin!"

Percival charged forward, keeping an ear open for any spells.

There were none. Percival's sword met with the sorcerer's shield and the clash came with a deafening clang. Percival swiped a few more times, trying at angles that would weaken Aiken's grip on the shield, but it was firm.

Percival relented, stepping back. He braced himself for an attack, but none came. Instead, the sorcerer mirrored the small retreat, his smile now mocking.

Why wasn't he using spells? He didn't have a sword, didn't have any other kind of weapon. Percival knew something was up, but kept attacking anyway, insistently trying to knock the shield out of Aiken's hand.

Blow after blow but it quickly proved to be of no use, the sorcerer's grip remained true. When Percival took a closer look, he knew why.

Aiken's eyes were golden. He'd been using a spell this whole time.

That was why his grip was so sure, he was using some sort of spell.

But...why? Percival was no expert on magic, but he knew that no sorcerer, no matter how powerful, could perform two spells at a time. How was he going to attack? How was Percival going to attack? They were at a stalemate.

They circled each other as Percival tried to figure out a solution. The sorcerer had to attack at some point, and that was when his defenses would be at their weakest. Now he just had to lure Aiken into casting a spell, and he sure wasn't going to do that by circling him.

He went in to attack again, swinging a sword at a shield that remained stuck in Aiken's hand like glue. Percival grunted, glaring into eyes that gleamed with gold, daring him to use any other tactic.

He withdrew, grunting in frustration. He wasn't getting anywhere. He wasn't getting through. The strongest man in all of Camelot and he couldn't get through a tiny little shield. Instead of taunting, instead of mocking, the sorcerer stayed quiet, because he knew that was worse. Percival realised that now, with his frustration, anger and strength combined, he was panting. On the other side of the ring, Aiken was smiling, looking like he had just gotten out of his tent.

And Percival knew that had been his plan all along.

It wasn't a secret that Percival was strong, his bulky arms were on display for all to see, and Aiken had clearly taken advantage of that. Wear the man down with an impenetrable defense and then blow him over like a feather. Sure enough, Percival looked up to finally see a hand poking out from the shield, but Percival was ready.

" **Hleap on baec!** "

Percival threw himself to the ground, a powerful gust of wind rushing over him. He fought to keep his eyes open, and squinted to see a figure run over to him, sheild raised. He rolled out the way of the attack and clambered to his feet, noticing in his struggle that the wind was still whipping around him. The spell was still in effect. Hand gripping his sword for all he was worth, Percival hacked at the shield, grinning at the small cry of alarm Aiken gave as he felt the shield budge slightly.

But then the shield was back in place and as immovable as ever. The sorcerer blocked Percival's swing and knocked it away. The two were back to square one, only Percival was now even more out of breath.

He was a knight of Camelot. He was not going to be beaten by a shield.

Again, Aiken's hand appeared from behind his defense, so Percival tried a different approach. Instead of wasting movement and stamina, he dug his sword into the arena sand as hard as he could.

" **Hleap on baec!** "

The same spell. Perhaps Aiken wasn't as powerful as Byrne? It didn't matter right now. Percival kept his head down, waiting patiently for the wind to die down.

Only the wind wasn't pushing him backwards.

Percival realised with horror that the wind was pushing him down towards the ground. Percival buckled slightly under the crushing weight, but used his sword as a cane, leaning against it as it dug into the ground.

Grunting with the effort of lifting his head up, Percival only just manged to move out of the way when Aiken swung his shield at him. With his movement limited, Percival was forced to take his sword out of the ground so that he could block Aiken's continuous attacks.

However, with the heavy winds pushing down on him, every parry was becoming more of a chore, and Percival knew that he wasn't going to be able to last that much longer. Percival was almost hunched over now, his swings getting slightly more sloppy. The only thing that was keeping him going was the fact that the winds were still pushing him down, which meant that the stunning spell was still in effect, and that Aiken's grip was no longer invincible.

Again and again, Percival swung his sword. Since the pressure upon him was so much that he was bent over, each block was at an awkward angle, and Percival could feel his own grip slipping from his sword. However, Percival could also see that Aiken's grip was slipping on the shield, and that it would only take a few more powerful blows until it could be knocked from his grip.

Luckily for Percival, he was the strongest man in all of Camelot.

Knowing victory was within his grasp, Percival swung again and again, and grinned as Aiken gave another cry and the shield was lost.

Percival didn't waste another second as he pointed his sword at Aiken's neck.

Suddenly, the winds that were crushing Percival disappeared without a trace and he straightened as the crowd around him cheered.

Percival gave a polite nod to the sorcerer, and Aiken grinned back. Throughout the entire match, Aiken had used his magic to protect and defend himself, only attacking when he needed to. Even then, the attacks were designed to put him at a disadvantage and to slow him down, none of them were violent at all. A smile appeared as a thought came to him. Perhaps sorcery wasn't so bad after all. After a few more tries, after a few more honourable and enjoyable battles like this one, Percival may finally understand what Merlin meant.

"Ah, Sir Percival was it?" Percival saw the emptiness in Aiken's eyes before he turned and headed towards the stands, dropping to one knee.

"Correct, your Majesty." Percival confirmed, fighting to keep an even tone.

"Well done! You turned the tables around quite well. Although..." In his peripherals, Percival could see King Deslin leaning forward slightly, "In the second round, this will pair you up with Prince Arthur, will it not? I wonder how that will turn out."

Percival froze. He hadn't thought of that.

"Ah, well. I suppose we shall see when the time comes. You're dismissed."

In a daze, Percival stumbled back to the Camelot tent, his friends rushing to meet him.

"There he is! Knew you had it in you!" Gwaine practically crashed into him, "Got to admit, you got me going for a minute there, bud!"

"You gave me quite the scare with that one, Percy." Lance admitted, "I thought he'd never let up."

"That pits you against Arthur now, doesn't it?" Leon broke the pleasantries by saying the very thing that was on Percival's mind. Percival nodded.

"Well," Elyan whistled, "That'll be one for the history books."

"True." Arthur stepped forward, looking at his friend with pride, "I have to say, I'm looking forward to fighting with you, Sir Percival."

Percival looked at him, nothing but admiration shining in his eyes, "And I'm honoured to have the opportunity to fight you, Sire."

It was the truth. It was nothing but the pure, unadulterated truth.


	11. A search full of discoveries

"Did you hear it?" Leon asked after the excitement had calmed down, "What did he say?"

"Serve King Deslin." Percival confirmed for the others, "You were right."

"And what about King Deslin?" Lancelot turned to Arthur, "Did you notice anything about him?"

"No," Arthur shook his head, "We couldn't very well stare at him for the entirety of the fight, but when we did have eyes on him, he was just watching."

The four fell into silence. All 7 knew by now that something was going on. They all felt uneasy by this, but none more so that Merlin. He was perfectly used to this by now, so it wasn't exactly King Deslin that scared him. It was the fact that the knights and Arthur were in on it as well. It had never been Merlin and the knights. It had always been Merlin and Gaius. How were things going to turn out if there were this many people in on it? Merlin bit his lip. They had watched two matches now, and they wouldn't receive anything new by just standing around and watching a third one.

"Well..." Merlin piped up as everyone turned to look at him, "We're not going to do much by just standing around and watching a third match."

He waited a little while for the information sunk in before he continued, "Perhaps there's somewhere where we can get a bit more information, or-"

"No." Arthur interrupted standing up. Merlin blinked, surprised.

"I was just saying that-"

"No, Merlin! You're not running around by yourself, I won't let you."

"Maybe he doesn't have to go by himself." Gwaine suggested casually. Merlin shot a grateful smile at him, but Arthur rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"No, Gwaine, and that goes for everyone! We're not going to resort to snooping around."

"Then what do you want to do, Arthur?" Merlin asked him. He knew that Arthur could see the challenge gleaming in his eyes.

"We befriend Byrne, Aiken, any of Rivkah's contestants that we feel aren't loyal to King Deslin. See if we can get any information from them."

"And have them tell the King immediately afterwards?" Elyan brought up.

"They're not loyal to him, they'll willingly tell us!" Arthur defended.

"But we can't depend on that." Merlin shot back, "The only people we can trust right now are ourselves. Besides, what if we get them hurt for talking?"

Arthur sighed. He was right. Why was Merlin always right?

Merlin took advantage of Arthur's silence, "I could go into Byrne's room, look for clues as to what-"

"This isn't a game, Merlin!" Arthur fought to keep his voice down, "This isn't Camelot, it's Rivkah. You're far away from home, which means you can't do anything stupid! You can't just go around like you always do, thinking it'll turn out fine, because it won't! You'll get caught, you'll get exposed, and then because I'm just a prince, I'm not going to be able to save you, and then I'll loose you! All because I made the stupid decision in letting you play your little game!"

Merlin was stunned into silence. Arthur was right. This wasn't Camelot. The repercussions were going to be a lot worse if he got caught.

"Maybe I can go with him?" Gwaine suggested again, "I'll stand guard."

"Stand guard outside of Byrne's room?" Arthur tested.

Gwaine nodded, "I can pretend I'm outside waiting for her."

Elyan nodded slowly, "And where will Byrne be? We can't have her walking in on you."

"She'll be watching Boar and Themison's fight," Leon figured, "They all will."

"Right." Merlin said, watching Arthur carefully, "So I can go into Byrne's room, look for anything that may be suspicious while everyone's watching the fight and Gwaine can stand guard. In and out, simple as that." He explained. 

Arthur had his chin rested on stapled fingers, "Why you? What about one of the knights?"

"Arthur, you know it has to be me." Merlin said, "I'm the only one who knows what we're looking for. Plus, I've already done this thousands of times."

Arthur sighed. He didn't like this. He didn't like it one bit.

"Fine." He gave in, rubbing his temples, "Fine, we'll do it. We'll say that Gwaine has gone to adjust his armour and make sure it's the right size and that Merlin has gone to help him fit into it. You'll have about 30 minutes before anyone gets suspicious. In and out, okay?"

"Okay." Merlin smiled. Perhaps doing this with the knights wasn't going to be that hard after all.

When they had gotten back to the prince's chambers for the night, Arthur was unusually quiet. Merlin knew why, and didn't bother him with mindless chatter as he helped him out of his armour.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Arthur asked as Merlin took his breastplate off.

"Yes, Arthur." Merlin droned. He'd asked that question several times now.

"Because I could do it." Arthur volunteered, "I could take a look in Byrne's room."

"You know that's not going to work." Merlin explained patiently, "Because if you were to disappear it would be more suspicious than a servant leaving. Besides, you don't know anything about enchantments."

Arthur sighed, "I'm just worried about you, that's all."

Merlin paused, a smile tugging at his lips, "Really?"

"Of course." It came out as barely a whisper, "I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't." Merlin answered, "If I do, who's going to look after you?"

Arthur gave a laugh, "I can look after myself, Merlin."

"I don't believe that for a second." Merlin muttered. Arthur heard him and laughed louder.

"I wanted to thank you." Arthur admitted. Merlin knitted his eyebrows and looked at him, "What for?"

Arthur smiled fondly, "For not using your magic to help me out during my fight."

Merlin paused. He hadn't even thought of that.

"How do you know I didn't use magic?" Merlin asked, placing Arthur's armour in the hamper. He'd wash it tomorrow.

"I would have felt it." Arthur answered, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"Really? What would it feel like?" Merlin asked, intrigued. Arthur's forehead creased a little bit, the fond smile spreading across his face.

"Warm." He eventually answered.

"I'm pretty sure Byrne's magic would have felt warm as well." He smiled. Arthur laughed.

"No, like... a nice kind of warm. Like a campfire. Or having multiple covers on the bed. Or..." Arthur trailed off, unsure of how to describe something he didn't even understand.

"Or like arriving home in the winter?" Merlin joked, though he looked up when Arthur brightened.

"That's it." He smiled, "Home. That's what your magic feels like."

"Well, maybe I was wrong," Merlin grinned, trying for all he was worth to push down the fuzzy feeling that was growing in his stomach, "Maybe you can look after yourself after all."

"I should hope so." Arthur smirked, "What kind of prince would I be if I couldn't even protect my own servant?"

Merlin gave a laugh, "You realise I can look after myself as well. I'll be fine Arthur, in and out, like you said." 

Arthur hummed, and then pulled Merlin into a hug. Although shocked, Merlin didn't say anything and decided to make the most of it. Chances were Arthur was going to deny this hug for all the world the next morning. Instead he tried as inconspicuously as he could to snuggle in closer.

"Please be careful." Merlin couldn't believe it. Arthur was pleading. He wasn't exactly sure how to respond.

"You know I will, Arthur." Merlin answered, his voice muffled slightly by Arthur's tunic.

Arthur didn't say anymore, so Merlin fell quiet as well. Instead, the two enjoyed the peaceful moment that they had together. None of Gwaine's yelling, none of the knight's chatter, and no imminent danger hanging over their heads. Merlin sighed happily and smiled as Arthur held him closer. He could get used to this.

When the night passed quickly and it was time to go down to the arena, Arthur had gone quiet again, and Merlin respectfully kept his distance. They entered the tent where the knights were already waiting. Instead of the enthusiastic greeting they had usually got, they were met with a ready silence. Gwaine approached Merlin, and Merlin greeted him with a curt nod.

"I think it's best if you go now." Leon said quietly, aware of the audience wondering around outside, "The audience are still finding there seats, so you won't be as noticeable."

"Alright then." Gwaine nodded, looking at Merlin, "What say you and me go check out some armour, Merlin?"

Merlin gave another, more confident smile as Gwaine opened the flap. Casting one last glance at Arthur, Merlin left and followed him.

They walked quickly back up the path and into the castle, which was now empty.

"First thing we need to do is find an empty room." Merlin whispered to him.

"Gotcha." Gwaine obeyed. He didn't know why, but he didn't ask questions. With all the sneaking around Merlin did, he was the expert.

After they turned into an empty hallway, Merlin pressed his head against the first door he came across so that no one would be able to see his eyes glow gold if they were to walk past.

"No one's in here." Merlin confirmed after his eyes turned back to normal. Then, he turned back to the door again.

" **Aliese.** " He hissed, and a soft click sounded as the door unlocked.

"In here." Merlin whispered. Gwaine followed into the room.

"Why are we in here?" Gwaine asked as Merlin locked the door again.

"I need to see the path ahead so that we can find the way to Byrne's room." Merlin explained, "There may still be some servants around, so it's too risky to use it in the corridor."

"Well, all right then." Gwaine shrugged, letting Merlin do his thing. Merlin's eyes turned gold once again, and in his mind the corridors of the palace opened up before him. Since Byrne was a sorcerer of high standing, he figured she would own one of the more prestigious chambers, and so he went up a couple of flights.

Peering into every room he could find, he noticed that the architect of the palace looked a lot like Camelot's. A coincidence, probably, and so Merlin let it slide, more focused on the task at hand.

After several minutes, he came across a room that seemed to have a higher temperature than the others. It reeked of magic, the very same type of magic that Arthur had fought against yesterday. Merlin put an end to the spell and the image in his head dispersed, leaving him looking at a very confused Gwaine.

"Found it." Merlin said, shaking his head a little to clear his mind, "2 flights of steps, 3 lefts then a right."

"Woah." Gwaine marvelled, "Handy."

Merlin only grinned as he walked to the door. Checking that the coast was clear again, he stepped out, Gwaine in his wake.

Using the spell in shorter bursts to make sure the coast was clear, Gwaine and Merlin were making steady progress throughout the castle. Merlin was sure that the match had started now, and all the servants that weren't watching the match were on the ground floor preparing for the feast this evening to celebrate getting halfway through the first round.

"So how do you think Lance is going to do this afternoon?" Gwaine asked after he made sure there were no servants about.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Merlin answered shortly. Now wasn't the time for conversation.

"What did the board say her name was? Lyriel? Sounds pretty. Wonder if it's-"

"Gwaine!" Merlin hissed.

"Right. Sorry."

After a few more turns, the two finally made it to the pairs of doors that Merlin had seen in his spell.

"Here it is." Merlin announced, cautiously checking to make sure the hall was empty.

"I'll stand guard here then." Gwaine announced. Merlin considered this, but then shook his head.

"No. What if a servant were to see you and then Arthur told another servant that you were checking out armour? The two stories will contradict and the servants might tell King Deslin." Merlin muttered, "You're coming in with me."

"Your call." Gwaine decided, "Lead the way."

Merlin murmured the same unlocking spell as before and dragged Gwaine in with him. Just like he saw, the room was incredibly big and had a similar layout to Arthur's. Not caring for the details, Merlin immediately went to examining the surfaces, knowing there wasn't much time.

"Hey, you can see the match from here!" Gwaine grinned, peering out, "Looks like Boar's got the upper hand..."

"Gwaine, get away from the window!" Merlin hissed, "What if someone sees you?"

"Sorry, sorry!" Gwaine held up his hands as he moved away. He looked around the room as Merlin hurried through the contents in the wardrobe, "What exactly are we looking for anyway?"

"Spells, enchantments, something that hints towards King Deslin having some sort of influence over his army." Merlin listed, closing the wardrobe and peering under the bed. 

Gwaine frowned, considering this slowly. On the desk in front of him was a half-eaten breakfast. He turned to Merlin.

"Merlin," He got his attention, "There's some breakfast here. The servants will be up soon to clean it away."

"Right." Merlin picked up the pace, rummaging through parchment that was on Byrne's desk, "These are just letters..."

Gwaine wasn't listening. He was staring at the food suspiciously. It didn't look... right.

"Hey, Merlin?" Gwaine brought up, "Do you think something's up with this food?"

Merlin looked at him oddly, but joined him anyway, "What do you mean?"

Gwaine shrugged, "It looks kind of... shiny."

Merlin frowned but, after a while of examining the food, understood what he meant, "I think it's covered in something."

Before Gwaine could stop him, Merlin approached the food, tore off a bit of chicken and sniffed at it. He shook his head, feeling drowsy all of a sudden.

"Compound of hog's wart." Merlin concluded as he examined it, "But only a little amount."

"Alright." Gwaine said, "And that is...?"

"I won't explain right now, there's not enough time." Merlin tucked the chicken away in a small pouch fastened to his belt, "Come on, let's go."

They left the room and made their way back down the stairs, ducking into an archway as they waited for a servant to pass. Suddenly, something breached Merlin's mind, and he clutched his head as a searing pain burned through his skull.

" _Merlin..._ "

Merlin gasped and clutched his head. Gwaine started with alarm.

"Merlin? Merlin!"

" _Merlin..._ "

The call came again, sending more waves of pain into him.

"Merlin, we have to go, servants are coming this way!"

"Serve...?" Merlin asked blearily. He blinked, bracing himself for another onslaught, but there was nothing, just a frantic Gwaine pulling him down a hallway.

Merlin let himself be dragged, aware of close they had come to being caught because of him. They couldn't risk stopping on the ground floor as it was now littered with servants cluttering around with jobs to do for the feast. They were making painfully slow progress, but it was better than getting caught, especially after they had gotten this far. Merlin was in such a bad shape that he couldn't use magic. Whenever he did, the pain would flare up again and he would be left defenceless. Because of this, Gwaine cleared the next few hallways himself, dragging Merlin along with him.

"Come on." Gwaine said, "Just a bit more."

Sure enough, a few more turns and they were out in the bright sunlight. Merlin squinted, the light of the sun and the cheers of the crowd taking him by surprise.

"The match can't go on for very much longer now," Gwaine muttered to himself, "Come on."

After having gotten his bearings, Merlin raced back down towards the tent, trying not to appear to suspicious to any passing servants. He gave a long sigh of relief when they finally stepped back into the tent.

"Where the hell have you been!" Arthur was on them in a second, launching himself at Merlin, "We were getting worried!"

"Hi Arthur." Merlin managed as Arthur squeezed the life out of him, "Good to see you to."

"Oh, go ahead, don't thank me all at once." Gwaine said, watching the knights crowd around Merlin. Arthur laughed, let go of Merlin and patted Gwaine on the back.

"Good job, Gwaine." Arthur grinned, "I'm sure you did a fine job of keeping Merlin out of trouble."

"Not to mention yourself." Elyan quipped, patting Gwaine on the back as well. Gwaine laughed.

"So, did you find anything?" Leon asked as he greeted Gwaine. The younger knight nodded and jerked his head in Merlin's direction.

"We found some chicken."

Elyan did a double-take, "You what?"

"What Gwaine means," Merlin laughed, pulling the chicken out of his pouch, "Is that Gwaine thought that the chicken looked funny."

"Looked... funny...?" Percival echoed.

"Well, I examined it, and it turned out that it was covered in a small amount of hog's wart compound." Merlin answered. The others stared at him blankly. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"A sedative. Whoever covered Byrne's food did so to make her fall asleep."

"Fall asleep?" Arthur repeated, "But she's perfectly fine, we've seen her wondering around."

"Well, there isn't that much on here, so maybe it wasn't powerful enough for that." Merlin suggested, "Maybe it was just enough to calm her down."

"Calm down? I suppose she does have a bit of a temper on her." Gwaine mused. Just then, the crowd erupted into the biggest yet. Arthur's heart pounded as a though occurred to him.

"We should be outside." Arthur decided, "King Deslin will find it suspicious if we all stay inside for the entire match."

Nodding, the group filed outside, Merlin tucking away his chicken.

As the match wore on, Merlin zoned out. Was it just Byrne that King Deslin was sedating? Or was it all of his knights? That didn't sound like it was worth it. Merlin looked over to the Rivkah tent, where Byrne was watching intently. She didn't look any different. Merlin sighed. They were getting more questions than answers.

"You know how I told you Byrne seemed angry at the end of her match?" Arthur spoke, not taking his eyes of the match.

"Yes?"

"Do you think that's why King Deslin sedated her food? To keep her calm so she wouldn't do anything reckless and give them away?"

Merlin shrugged, "Perhaps. But why would she be so mad at him in the first place?"

"And that, Merlin," Arthur said as Boar knocked down Themison for the final time, "Seems to be the most important question."

The crowd cheered around them and Merlin clapped along, a grin plastered on his face.

As Boar addressed King Deslin, Merlin stared at Themison. He didn't look mad at King Deslin, he was cheering for Boar, just like the others. Neither of them seemed mad. Merlin frowned. There were to many questions. After Boar had bowed and made his way out of the ring, King Deslin stood up.

"Members of the court!" He graced the ring, "I would like to announce that at the end of today we would have made it through the first half of the first round!" He paused as he gave the audience a chance to cheer. Then he continued, "To celebrate, I would like to hold a feast in the castle to celebrate the victors and encourage the ones yet to fight. That is all!" 

With that, he stepped down and made his way back to the palace, his servants following him.

"Another feast," Arthur groaned, "I should have known."

"Come on, it'll be fun." Merlin perked up, temporarily banishing his worries from his mind, "We can use it to celebrate Percival and Lancelot's victory when he wins."

"If I win." Lancelot cut in with a playful nudge, "Victory isn't that easy, Merlin."

"Oh, come on, you'll be fine." Merlin grinned, "It'll be easy."

Lancelot laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder, "I appreciate the encouragement, Merlin." He gave his friend a nod before ducking back into the tent.

Merlin grinned as Arthur led them back towards the prince's chambers. However, as soon as he remembered just what had happened after he left Byrne's room, his smile faltered. Just what had happened under that archway? He had heard a voice. Merlin bit his lip. It was dangerous, he knew it. A threat to the knights. A threat to Arthur. 

Merlin pondered it carefully, wondering what would be the best thing to do. Once upon a time, Arthur would have just called him crazy and gone about his day, but now... Merlin wasn't sure how he was going to react. Either way, this had happened before, and Merlin had been able to handle it himself easily. Merlin clenched his fists as he came to a resolve.

Arthur didn't need to know.


	12. A hardship full of reminders

Lunch came and went, and Merlin made sure to keep talking as much as he possibly could, since if he were to grow silent Arthur would immediately know that something was wrong. Fortunately, it seemed to work, and Arthur and Merlin were soon heading back down towards the tent again, Merlin making sure that he didn't grow quiet.

"Who do you think this Lyriel is? A sorcerer or a knight?" Merlin cast a glance at Arthur who was walking beside him.

Arthur pondered for a second, "With our horrendous luck, a sorcerer."

"Do you think she's powerful?" Merlin asked, grasping at straws for more questions. Arthur looked at him oddly.

"She's in an army, probaby." Arthur said it like it was obvious. Merlin deemed that it probably was.

"What type of magic do you think she specialises in?" Merlin prodded. He could tell he was annoying Arthur, and was enjoying this all the more because of it.

"How am I possibly supposed to know that Merlin?" Arthur shook his head incredulously.

Can't you guess?" Merlin pressed on, trying hard to keep the laughter out of his voice.

"Merlin, what's with all these stupid questions?" Arthur spoke, wondering yet again just how idiotic his manservant was.

"Why do you think they're stupid?" Merlin asked. He knew he ws pushing it know.

"Merlin!" Here it came.

"Yes?"

"Shut up!"

Merlin snapped his mouth shut at that. Maybe there was such a thing as talking to much.

They both walked into the tent, where as usual the knights were waiting for them.

"Good afternoon, Sire. Merlin." Lancelot nodded politely to each one of them, about to put his armour on.

"Here, let me help you with that!" Merlin volunteered as he rushed over. Lancelot looked guilty.

"Merlin, I couldn't possibly-"

"Don't be stupid, here..." Merlin practically wrestled the shoulder pad out of Lancelot's grip, "I usually find it easier to start with the breastplate..."

"I'll just ignore the fact that you called a knight stupid, shall I, Merlin?" Arthur asked from behind them. Merlin raised his eyebrows as Lancelot, who smirked in return, before getting back to work.

"Oh, go ahead Sire, I've called you an idiot plenty of times and you've always managed to turn a blind eye." 

Arthur scoffed, but didn't say anything else. Instead, he withdrew the flap of the tent and peered out.

"Crowd's filling up." Arthur murmured as he went back inside the tent, "Byrne and Aiken are laughing about something outside their tent, and they don't look... strange." Arthur ended the sentence on a flat note, not entirely sure how to phrase it.

"You mean it didn't look like she's under a sedative anymore?" Gwaine asked, peering.

"No. After Merlin sniffed the sedative, he looked drowzy. If Byrne ate a meal, even if it was a tiny dosage, then she would have looked sleepy." Arthur spoke aloud.

"Maybe we were right? Maybe King Deslin only used it to calm her down. If she's laughing now, then it must have worked." Merlin said as he finished putting on Lancelot's armour.

"Either way, the match is going to start soon." Elyan stepped forward, putting them all out of their thoughts.

"You're right." Leon stated, "Lancelot? It's time."

As if on cue, the horn sounded a few seconds later, bringing everyone to silence.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the afternoon match!" The announcer called out from the stands, "Before we begin, we would like to remind you once again on the feast that will be celebrating the current victors and encouraging the contestants who are yet to fight! But for now, please welcome the lovely Lyriel!"

Cheers rose up from the stands as Lyriel walked out. Inside the tent, Lancelot accepted his sword and shield from Merlin.

"And now for a member of the Knights of Camelot, the noble Sir Lancelot!"

Lancelot stepped out, his eyes immediately scanning for his opponent, only to find the woman that he had been talking to on the carriage on the way to the East gate. When her eyes picked him out, Lancelot could tell that she recognised him as well, and her lips spread into a confident smirk. Lancelot tightened the grip on his sword and took his place, nodding politely to the applauding crowd.

Gwaine looked on with the rest of the knights. As soon as he spotted her, his eyes widened, "Hey! That's the lady that ambushed me!"

"You mean during the preliminaries?" Elyan inquired, examining her.

"Yeah, she had a whip... there! Look!" Gwaine nudged Elyan and pointed to the woman's hip. Sure enough, instead of the shield that the previous two contestants had wielded, Lyriel had a rather nasty looking whip attached to her belt.

"Why does she need a weapon if she's a sorcerer?" Percival frowned, "Surely that's against the rules."

"Well, some sorcerers have magic that's only strong enough for household chores," Merlin explained in a hushed voice, "But if they have the right kind of weapon, they can stream their magic into it so they can use their magic to fight."

"So her magic is weak." Arthur concluded. Merlin shook her head.

"In everyday situations, yes, she would only be able to perform basic tasks. But if she knows how to wield that weapon properly? She could be a challenge."

Arthur hissed through his teeth, beginning to see the problem, "Ah."

"Yeah."

With that, they fell silent, all of them looking at the steady form of Lancelot, who was examining Lyriel's stance for any signs of an opening. She was leaning on her left leg, she was twisted slightly, and she clutched the whip with her right hand. Lancelot pursed his lips, trying to decide what her first move would be, and how he could counter. Once again, Lancelot saw her lips move and the stone glow faintly. As soon as he knew what was happening, he shot a glance King Deslin who, sure enough, was grinning at Lyriel. When Lancelot saw the usher raise his hand, he banished all suspicions from his mind and averted his eyes back to Lyriel.

"Begin!"

Immediately, Lyriel was upon him, grabbing her whip with her right hand and swinging, using the momentum she got from twisting her hip. Having calculated that very move, Lancelot held up his shield and the whip bounced of the very centre harmlessly.

Lancelot looked back at his opponent for any more hints to her next attack when he braced himself as her eyes turned gold. When he realised that no incantation was coming, he glanced down and saw that Lyriel was using her magic to manipulate her whip, and Lancelot could only watch as it snaked around his legs and brought him crashing to the ground. As soon as he collapsed, Lyriel once again used magic to untangle the whip and threw it at him one after the over. Lancelot, still trying to recover, only just managed to block the worst of the attacks, the whip sometimes clashing with his armour when he was to slow with his shield.

Eventually, Lancelot was up, if a little unsteady, but Lyriel wasn't giving him a chance to regain his balance. She continued waving her whip and Lancelot tottered around the ring, using both his sword and shield to deliver unsteady, shaky blocks.

When Lancelot finally managed to get himself back on track, he immediately saw what was coming when he saw the whip fall to the ground. Not one to fall for the same trick twice, he stomped on it and cut it with his sword. The end he had cut off coiled around his feet as Lyriel stepped back, scowling.

With the crowd roaring, Lancelot found himself laughing. Whilst he couldn't say that he joined the Knights of Camelot for the fun and games, he had learned to grow fond of tournaments, especially when they handed him challenges like this.

He fell silent and fell back into his stance when he saw Lyriel's eyes glow gold. Not sure what to expect, Lancelot's eyes widened when not one, to two whips grew back in the other's place, faster and longer than before.

Instantly, Lancelot's shield was once again up and deflecting the attacks, only now Lyriel was using each head to attack one after the other, so the attacks were a lot more frequent than before. Lancelot fought to keep the shield in his grip, not sure how he was going to attack when he couldn't see an end to Lyriel's onslaught.

Suddenly, Lancelot grunted as he felt a sharp tug. He realised with horror that the two ends of the whip had been manipulated into wrapping around his shield. Now, Lyriel was tugging with all her might. Lancelot was by far stronger, but, with the magic combined, Lancelot knew he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. To make matters worse, Lancelot felt a stab of panic a Lyriel's eyes glowed gold.

" **Tanio mellt!** "

Lightning flared across the whips so suddenly that Lancelot very nearly dropped his shield. He managed to hold on, seeking temporary pleasure in the fact that the element of surprise hadn't worked on him.

The two stood there, tugging the shield back and forth, Lancelot's head turning slightly every so often to ignore the occasional cracks of lightning that raced across the whips every now and then.

He had briefly considered chopping the whip again, but the thought was quickly crushed s he remembered what happened last time. Gritting his teeth, Lancelot saw that he had no choice but to use his own element of surprise.

Chucking the shield at her as fast as he can, Lancelot raced in with his sword whilst Lyriel ducked. Trapping the whip under his foot, Lancelot kicked her to the ground. Lyriel rolled away, picking up the shield that had soared over her head. She rose, Lancelot with a sword and Lyriel with a shield, the whip tucked safely away under Lancelot's foot.

Lancelot had considered picking up the whip and using it s as normal weapon, but two weapons against one shield wasn't fair. Instead, he continued hacking at Lyriel's shield, planning instead to just continue on until she dropped it.

At first it seemed like the shield wasn't moving, and Lancelot briefly wondered if she was using a similar spell to Aiken. Then, as he kept going, he started to hear faint grunts that were getting louder as more panicked. Sure enough, it wouldn't be long before she lost the shield.

Confidence rising, Lancelot stepped forward as he continued hacking at the shield from different angles. However, when he next decided to look at her face, he paused when he saw she was grinning. Panic clutching at his heart again, Lyriel's hand darted out from behind the shield.

" **Obrinde!** "

The whip flew past Lancelot and into the waiting hand of Lyriel. She smiled cruelly, Lancelot noticing that there wasn't any trace of sweat anywhere. He realised with dawning horror that she had only feigned exhaustion to make him grow more confident, and it had worked like a charm.

The only thing Lancelot had in his hands now was his sword, the very sword that he had been fighting with since he was a child, armed only with his weapon and the dreams of one day becoming a knight of Camelot.

Now, here he was in the armour he had looked up to, and the only thing that had remained the same was this sword.

Before Lyriel could cast another spell, Lancelot began another barrage, performing tricks and manoeuvres he had been practicing since he was a child. Lancelot was only encouraged by a genuine grunt of surprise, which only caused more attacks rain down on her shield. Finally, Lyriel gathered enough of her bearings for her eyes to turn gold, and Lancelot was ready.

The whips were sent forward and they wrapped around Lancelot's sword. He held on hard, refusing to part with the only thing that had kept him alive all those harsh years in the wild.

And then his memories of his hardships were banished at the thought of Gwen's smile, and how it would beam and radiate like the sun when he retold the tale of his victory.

And that was more that enough.

With a swipe, Lancelot managed to cut the whip once more. Knowing he didn't have much time, he immediately charged in, trying his best to block Lyriel's view of the whip and keep her to busy so that she couldn't focus on the spell. Whilst he had been in a power struggle over his sword, he had stared at her shield and realised that her grip had weakened whilst she was tugging with her whip. Not wasting a second, Lancelot had decided which strikes would be the most efficient way of defeating her.

By the time he had gotten to her shield, Lancelot was ready.

In three strikes, the shield was sent tumbling out of her grip and Lyriel was forced to stop her whip from growing when a sword was pointed at her neck.

The match ended and the cheers began. Lancelot acknowledged the crowd by holding up his sword, unable to stop grinning at the sound of the crowd cheering his name.

The honourable Sir Lancelot, capable of fighting, winning, with his sword alone.

"Sir Lancelot!" Lancelot stiffened as he turned and approached King Deslin, bowing before he addressed him.

"Sire."

"Quite the show! You're aware you're up against Boar in the second round?" King Deslin peered down at him.

"Yes, Sire."

"You'll do well to prepare. You're dismissed."

Unable to stop smiling, Lancelot jogged over to his friends.

"That was some fancy footwork there!" Arthur praised him.

"I got it all from you, Sire." Lancelot grinned, looking at each of his friends in turn.

He spotted Elyan and nodded at him. Lancelot didn't know how, but he could tell that Elyan knew just who he was thinking off in the last few seconds of the match.

Lancelot exchanged a silent grin with Merlin as the servant got to work in removing Lancelot's armour.

"You're up tomorrow, Leon!" Elyan grinned.

"True." Leon nodded, "Guess I'm just going to have to show you all how it's done."

The knights celebrated Lancelot further until it was time to head to the feast. After the match, Merlin rushed around the tent helping the knights change into their armour. After all of them were prepared for the feast, they all laughed and joked their way into the throne room, where decorations had been hung by the servants earlier that day.

While it was a pretty sight to look at, all knights silently agreed that it was nowhere near as opulent as the opening feast, though they supposed that was to be expected. This was meant to be a small feast to celebrate making it halfway through the first round. The knights grinned at each other and made their way to their seats, which were the same as before. Arthur greeted King Deslin with a firm handshake and sat down in his seat next to him. Without a word, Merlin filled Arthur's goblet with a wine jug he had collected and went off to the side.

"Arthur! How are you?" King Deslin grinned, "The last time we spoke was after you had defeated Byrne!"

"Yes, she was a fine opponent." Arthur leapt at the chance to talk, eager to learn as much as he could, "I was pleased to find she wasn't a sore loser or anything. She accepted it all extremely gracefully."

"I should expect so! She's one of my finest knights! Picked her up from the ground and raised her myself." 

Arthur glanced at him, "Really? How so?"

King Deslin sipped at his wine, "She has a sister, Cinders, who works in my army as well. She's been paired up against Sir Elyan, I believe." Another sip, "I heard word from my knights about a patrolling circus and their most famous act: the Dynamite Dynamos, two sorcerers who specialised in fire magic. Intrigued, I rode to where they were staying and demanded that they hand them over. It took a while to persuade their family, but I eventually got my way."

Arthur turned cold, but did his best to ignore it. He seeked out Byrne, who was now joking with who Arthur assumed was her sister, since she was identical in every which way. The only difference that Arthur managed to pick out was that Cinder had more muscles framing her arms, and her face seemed more weathered and tanned. Arthur even thought he saw a few scars littered across her neck, but it was hard to say with the skin being slightly covered by a dress.

"And her sister?" Arthur thought it best to carry on the conversation to distract himself, "She's stronger than Byrne?"

King Deslin paused, humming as he made a decision, "No, though I suppose it depends on how you look at it. Cinders' magic is weaker by itself, which is why she prefers to use a dagger, not unlike the way Lyriel fought with her whip this morning."

Arthur suddenly remembered the girl he had seen practicing with a dagger on a dummy, and the shock that had gone through him when the dagger became alight with flames, "So she fights with a dagger because her magic is inherently weaker?"

"Precisely!" King Deslin nodded, "Byrne may be strong when it comes to magic, but when it comes to daggers I've never encountered anyone better then Cinders. Your Sir Elyan is in for a surprise, let me tell you." 

Arthur laughed with him, but was grateful for the silence that followed. It didn't look like he was suspicious, though then again, kings were expected to be good actors, it was the only way anything managed to get done. Arthur bit his lip. If he was expected to become king, to weave his way through lies and deceit, then he was going to have to become much better at picking out the lies from the truth. Even Merlin seemed to be better at that than he was, and that was something he definitely didn't want to admit out loud. He wouldn't hear the end of it.

"And what about your serving boy?" King Deslin brought up so suddenly that Arthur felt terror grip his heart, "He put up quite the fight during the preliminaries!"

"You were watching him?" Arthur tried to keep his voice from shaking. Judging from the gasp behind him, Merlin wasn't doing a much better job.

"Only at moments, I was much more interested in your fights, of course." Arthur listened in anxiously, "But outrunning Byrne? You didn't tell me he was that fast! It was quite entertaining!"

Arthur gave a shaky smile, frantically searching for another subject, "I found myself quite entertained by Boar's performance this morning!" He exclaimed as soon as the idea came into his head, "How did you come across him."

King Deslin waved his hand a little, "Oh, there was a gang of sorcerers who were terrorizing some of the lower villages, kidnapping some of the men and including them in some Wilddeoren fighting. I heard word that there was a powerful warrior amongst these sorcerers who was inflicting just as much terror on villagers as them, so I rode over to investigate and found Boar."

"You knighted a criminal?" Arthur asked. King Deslin shrugged.

"I suppose it could be seen that way, but Boar won't be committing any crimes with that collar around his neck." The phrase ended with a smirk.

"And the rest of the sorcerers? You recruited them?" King Deslin shrugged at Arthur's question.

"They weren't as powerful as Boar. I challenged them myself, but no such luck, so I let them go." King Deslin said as if it were the most simplest thing in the world.

Arthur couldn't help but frown, "You didn't arrest them?"

"I didn't see the need to. They weren't of any use to me, and they were only causing trouble in the outer villages, which meant there wasn't any damage to the crops meant for the citadel or the castle." King Deslin explained. Arthur inhaled. He wanted to retire more and more with each passing second, but knew King Deslin would find it suspicious if he did. After several more painful minutes of talking to King Deslin, Arthur stood and announced that he would be retiring.

"Are you sure? You've barely ate!" King Deslin protested.

"Yes, unfortunately my idiot servant gave me to much food at lunch."

"I see. Well, I look forward to seeing you fight in the future, Prince."

"Thank you. Merlin, come."

Merlin joined him and the two left, trying not to appear to hasty.

"He's getting suspicious. I know he is." Merlin glanced behind him, half-expecting to see King Deslin listening to them.

"It would seem so." Arthur frowned, "Aithusa should be with us in a few days, and until then the best we can do is stay out of his way."

"Yes, Sire." Merlin managed.

The two walked down the hallway, both plagued with an endless worry of what's to come.


	13. A domain full of dangers

" _Merlin..._ "

Merlin shot up in his bed, gasping. The pain wasn't as great as the first time in the archway, but it still throbbed and writhed inside him like a headache. Merlin's eyes darted around the room, gleaming gold in case of an attack, but none came. He was alone.

" _Merlin..._ "

The call came again and Merlin was left rubbing his head, groaning uncomfortably. The pain was dulling with every call, and Merlin had a horrible feeling that it was only there to grab his attention. When he was fully awake with a decision made, the pain seemed to stop instantly, without fading or dulling down. Merlin called magic to his fingertips and, heartbeat racing, he opened the door.

Merlin's little panic didn't seem to have woken the prince up, but Merlin watched him cautiously anyway, trying to decide wether the prince was awake or not. Sure enough, the faint little snores that came rumbling from the bed assured Merlin enough to make him start sneaking across his chambers. Feeling his way around the table, he made his way to the door in what Merlin thought was his most successful sneak yet. Proud of himself, he used magic to make sure the coast was clear before opening the door and shutting it softly.

The hallway was cold and empty, and Merlin briefly considered going back in to get his jacket, but a sharp pain forced the thoughts from his head.

" _Merlin..._ "

Merlin tried to stifle his gasp as quickly as he could. When he focused on the pain, he briefly saw the image of several hallways being projected into his mind. For whatever reason, a creature was asking him to find it.

Noticing that this hallway was identical to the first image he had received, he began to head down it, sticking to corners and keeping an ear open whenever he needed to make a turn. However, the castle was still with night, and Merlin needn't have worried. It seemed like everyone had gone to bed.

Once he had reached the end of the hallway to find more turns, Merlin withdrew into his head and called out into the darkness.

" _Where are you?_ "

Seconds later, the darkness responded.

" _Merlin..._ "

Sure enough, the pain came back and more images were sent into his brain, telling him which turn to take. Before he did, however, Merlin flung another thought into the silence.

" _Who are you?_ "

Nothing.

Not trusting this at all, Merlin crept forward, the need for his questions to be answered driving him. There were a few guards loitering around but, thanks to his magic, Merlin didn't have any trouble avoiding them. Merlin considered taking one of them out and stealing their sword, but that would have been noticed. Besides, he could look after himself.

He followed the series of images once more, the familiar hallways reminding him again of how the castle had a similar layout to Camelot. However, the thought was chased from his mind when Merlin reached the end of his images and was met with a dead end.

Confused, Merlin found the darkness once more.

" _Where are you?_ "

" _Datgelu…_ "

Merlin tensed. Suspicions racing in his head, he examined the wall carefully. If this was Camelot, this would be where the Dragon's cave was.

" _Datgelu…_ "

Merlin ran a hand over the damp wall as his eyes turned gold.

" **Datgelu.** "

Suddenly, the wall shimmered and in it's place was a craggy, unstable staircase leading down into the shadows. Merlin stepped back, not sure what to do. This wasn't what he had expected. In his doubts, Merlin had turned around and started walking back the way he had come.

" _Merlin!_ "

The voice was furious now, and in the pain that rammed through his head, Merlin thought he heard a million other voices curse along with it, echoing his name a thousand times in his head. The pain had been so bad that Merlin had collapsed to his knees, clutching his head. Gasping, he stood up and leant against a wall, trying to rub the pain away. When it had finally disappeared, Merlin could still feel a faint throb that acted like a warning. Realising he had no choice, Merlin grabbed the nearby torch and headed down the steps that lead into the darkness.

He climbed down the steps and wasn't surprised at the twist and turns that the stairway made. The walls of smooth marble had gone with the illusion, rough, damp and slimy cave walls replacing them. Merlin kept a torch down on the stairs, since he knew from experience that they weren't the safest way to clamber into the depths of a castle. When the end of the stairway was in sight however, Merlin kept his eyes up, feeling his way down the last few steps with his feet. 

As soon as he stepped into the cave, Merlin was repulsed by something that was sneaking it's way into his boots. Alarmed, Merlin jumped back onto the stairs and bent down to examine the cave floor more closely. There, rolling lazily to and fro was... water?

Merlin straightened and his eyes glowed gold as he peered into the darkness. Sure enough, in the very centre of the cave was a large lake. Merlin placed the torch on the stairway where he knew it would be dry and stepped into the cave, now ignoring the water that seeped at his feet.

"Where are you?" He called aloud. Nothing.

Merlin cast a longing glance back at his torch, wishing he could have some sort of weapon, but in a domain ruled by water, he knew it would be of no use.

Eyes flickering with gold, Merlin froze as his ears picked up a slithering sound behind him. Hair standing on end, Merlin turned around to meet the one who had lured him here.

He was met face to face with a snake who was lunging itself at his neck, and only a second to act.

Merlin threw himself to the side, rolled and scrambled up again, desperate to keep his eyes on the monster.

"Why did you bring me here?" He tried asking it. There had to be a reason. The snake could have called anyone in the castle. There had to be a reason other than it was hungry. The snake didn't answer. Instead it slithered around to face him and Merlin recoiled in horror at the sight of the many heads that were growing out of it. The body itself loomed over Merlin, and there were a few heads that were the size of a dragon's. However, leeching of to the side were several other heads, all off different sizes, and all with two eyes. All focused on him.

" **Oferswing!** " Merlin screeched in an attempt to fling the snake into the water. If he distracted the snake for long enough, he could get out of there.

A breeze whipped up in the cave, but it did nothing to budge the snake, all that it did was cause anger to narrow it's thousand eyes.

The snake lunged once more, and Merlin again tried to leap out of the way. When he made it past the heads, Merlin thought he was clear.

What he didn't spot in time was the tail that had snuck up on him.

With a sharp push, Merlin was sent flying. He gave a short scream, but it was cut of by the world of water that rushed up to meet him. It took him a few seconds to realise where he was, and even more to start swimming upwards. In the panic that he was drowning in, he briefly forgot that he had magic.

When he broke the surface, the monster was waiting for him. A tail whipped out to drag him down again, but Merlin was ready. Holding out a hand as the rest of him treaded water, the air around him glowed gold as it acted as a shield. The tail bounced of and the snake gave a snarl on indignation. Then, to Merlin's horror, it lowered itself into the water and sank into the depths. Frantically, Merlin searched his knowledge of the elements.

Water... water... earth... earth!

Knowing he didn't have much time, Merlin quickly used magic to solidify a section of the water and turn it into hard, cold earth. Merlin had only just scrambled onto the platform before it was shattered by the snake and Merlin was once again sent flying into the water with a shout.

With his eyes ignited gold so that he could see, Merlin opened his eyes just in time to see the monster charging up to him, heads baring their teeth. Unable to cast verbal spells, Merlin threw up a hand and sent a blast of air, as powerful as he could, towards the snake.

It was blown back slightly, but since they were in it's home element, it was no use. Merlin broke the surface once more, but only had time to take in one last breath before a tail coiled around him and dragged him down.

The surface was getting further and further away and the tail around him was purposefully squeezing out his oxygen, but Merlin wasn't done yet. Instead of trying desperately to swim upwards, Merlin swam down, the many heads of the snake snarling at him as they forced him to his watery grave.

Refusing to accept it, Merlin placed both his hands of the body of the monster as his eyes flared gold. Attempting the earth spell again, Merlin focused all he could on the water around the snake and solidifying it. With a screech, the snake could see that it was becoming encased in earth and writhed around in an attempt to break free.

With the tail releasing him so that it could help the rest of it's body out of it's prison, Merlin swam upwards, his lungs burning.

When he finally broke the surface with a gasp, panic set in once again as another scream rang out, and Merlin knew that the snake had set itself free. He began running towards the torch, his hand stretched out to meet it.

His body came crashing to the ground as he barely acknowledged one of the snake heads that had wrapped itself around his ankle. Trying desperately to tug himself free, Merlin could only watch as the snake slithered out of the water.

Turning his attention to the torch, Merlin stretched out his hand, his eyes flickering gold.

" **Obrinde!** "

The torch flew into his hand and, without wasting a second, Merlin lurched forwards and stabbed it into the very first eye he saw.

Screeching in pain, the snake withdrew and Merlin shook his ankle free of it's restraint. As he scrambled up the stairs, Merlin could feel the pain returning in his head as the snake once more tried to stop him.

Merlin continued on despite this, dripping wet and gasping for air. He clambered up the stairs and, when he finally reached the top, breathed out the words that would seal the snake away.

" **Delgatu!** "

Instantly, the wall shimmered back into place and the pain faded away. Merlin used magic to see if the way back to the prince's chambers was clear, and he breathed a sigh of relief when it was. He really couldn't handle anything else going wrong this evening.

He stayed there for a while, panting and breathing and gasping and trying desperately to calm down the racing off his heart, almost certain that someone would hear it. He was aware that he was soaked, but couldn't summon up the breath necessary for the spell to dry himself. Instead, he settled for drying up the small puddle that had already formed on the floor, and tried drying himself enough so that he would stop dripping. The last thing he needed was evidence that told King Deslin someone had been down there.

Finally ready to get going, Merlin set off down the corridors. Later, he would chastise himself for doing it so quickly, but right now he really didn't care. Checking one last time that he wasn't leaving drips everywhere, Merlin ran a hand over his soaking, matted hair and stopped again for a breather.

A snake. A monster. An actual monster beneath the castle. Merlin couldn't remember being this shaken by the dragon when he first discovered it, though then again the dragon hadn't attacked him.

Merlin started walking again when he began to feel his knees weakening. He could feel his eyes dropping, his feet aching, every inch of him begging for rest. He almost started crying when he finally reached Arthur's chambers.

Opening the door as quietly as he could, Merlin stepped in, relieved to be somewhere he knew was safe. He closed the door, but before he could take another step-

"Merlin!"

Merlin jumped out of his skin when arms grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Merlin stared dumbly at Arthur's furious face.

"Don't tell me you've been sneaking around again!"

Merlin just stared at him. What if Arthur had been lured into the trap? What if he had been lured in there with no sword and no torch and no means to protect himself and oh gods he could have died-

"Merlin, you idiot, answer me!"

And what if Merlin had died? What if he had died and his corpse would be left rotting at the bottom of a lake at the bottom of a cave at the bottom of a castle? He could have died, and no one would have known and then Arthur would have been next and he wouldn't be able to protect him and Arthur could have died, Arthur could have been in danger and he would have been useless, useless...

"Merlin!"

The slight shake that Arthur gave him snapped him out of his thoughts. He came to with a slight whimper, and found Arthur's eyes again. He was mad. Oh gods, he was so mad at him...

With the pain and the snake and the shock and the scare, the shame tipped him over the edge. Before he could stop them, tears were leaking out of Merlin's eyes and running down his cheeks. As more followed, Merlin desperately tried to come up with an explanation, only to have a short sob reek out instead. Seeing Merlin's reaction, Arthur's face immediately softened and he pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, Merlin, you're soaking..."

Merlin clung to Arthur's chest, trying once more to explain everything, only to have more sobs come out instead. Eventually, he gave up and focused on calming down. Arthur seemed to have understood that Merlin couldn't explain, and instead took to stroking his hair, knowing that it had calmed Merlin down in the past.

Arthur rested his chin on Merlin's damp hair as he held the shaking frame of his servant tightly. He had woken up in the middle of the night with a dull headache, and when he went to fetch Merlin, he panicked when he found that he wasn't there. He had come to the conclusion that Merlin must have snuck out to search for more clues in Byrne's room, or worse, the King's own chambers, but his mulling anger had faded the minute Merlin came back with tears in his eyes. Now, Arthur could do nothing but mutter assurance into Merlin's ear as he tried his best to calm him down. Just what had happened to him?

After several minutes, Merlin's sobs were reduced to blubbers and sniffles. Arthur drew Merlin back so that he could wipe his tears away.

"Merlin, you're a mess, honestly..." Arthur couldn't help smiling slightly as he helped clean Merlin up, "I'll get you something dry to wear. Go and sit by the fire, that's an order."

Sniffing, Merlin made his way over to the fireplace, lighting it up with a spell. It flared to life and Merlin rubbed his hands in front of it, everything that had happened that night replaying in his mind.

Soon, Arthur came back out of the servant's quarters with a fresh pair of nightclothes. He had also grabbed a towel and let it drape over Merlin's head. Merlin smiled gratefully from underneath it and started rubbing at his hair while Arthur draped his nightclothes over a screen.

After his hair was more or less dry, Merlin went behind the screen to peel off his soaking nightclothes. After he had changed, he hurried back over to the fire, where Arthur was waiting.

Arthur let them sit in silence for a while as Merlin warmed up and gathered his thoughts.

"So," Arthur's voice spoke into the silence, "What happened tonight, Merlin?"

Merlin tensed, realising that no story he could come up with could explain why he had stumbled back into Arthur's chambers soaking wet. So, he told the truth.

"A snake." Merlin croaked out, his voice hoarse from all the crying. Arthur waited patiently for him to continue.

"Some sort of monster." Merlin whispered, "In a cave below the castle."

"Like your dragon friend?" Arthur recalled Merlin telling him that he had been the one to release the dragon under the cave in Camelot, "How did you find it?"

"I didn't." Merlin explained, "It called to me during the night, lured me into a trap."

Hearing that Merlin's voice was shaking again, Arthur wrapped his arms around him, "It attacked you?"

Arthur felt Merlin nod against his chest, "It dragged me down into a lake. That's why I was soaked."

As Merlin fell silent, Arthur wondered how many times Merlin had been attacked like this, before Arthur even knew about his magic. Every monster Merlin had fought, every attack he had endured, all whilst keeping his secret and not expecting anything in return. He sighed, letting Merlin fall back into his thoughts. That would have to be enough for tonight. Merlin was clearly exhausted and the best thing for him now was sleep.

Arthur tried to get up, but stopped when Merlin gave a whine of protest. He rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"You're such a girl, Merlin..."

Merlin didn't answer, he just rubbed himself against Arthur's chest, trying to keep himself warm. He could feel his eyes drooping, but he didn't want to move. Theories about the monster and King Deslin made their way into his mind, but he batted them away. He could worry about that later.

For now, he focused on Arthur, and the arms that were wrapped tightly around him.

They felt warm. Like home.

That was his last thought before he finally fell asleep.


	14. A needle full of poison

When Arthur woke up, the first thing he felt was hair tickling his nose. Mumbling, he pulled Merlin in closer and closed his eyes, sighing against his neck.

He remembered what had happened last night, and just how shaken his servant had been. After Merlin had fallen asleep, Arthur had reasoned with himself that Merlin would probably feel safer if he slept with Arthur. So, he had carried Merlin into his bed and had snuggled up to him, all because Merlin was the one who wanted it. Definitely.

Now that Arthur was awake, he couldn't help but think about what Merlin had told him. A monster underneath the castle, one that had very nearly killed him. There was no doubt about it, King Deslin knew about the monster, and if he hadn't set his sorcerers upon it, he was in an alliance with it. If the monster had lured Merlin into a trap, then there had to be a reason. More than ever, Arthur was certain that King Deslin was suspicious of them. His grip unconsciously tightened, so much so that he heard a soft whine come from Merlin.

"Merlin?" Arthur called, his voice slightly muffled because of the hair. There was another grunt, and then movement. Arthur took his arm away from Merlin's waist and sat up, waiting patiently for the sorcerer to get his bearings. Merlin turned onto his back and Arthur watched as his blue eyes opened slowly, and then widened in realisation.

"I'm not in my bed." Merlin stated. When he saw Arthur, he turned to face him, "I'm in your bed."

"Well done, Merlin, you truly will grow to outsmart us all." Arthur deadpanned as Merlin sat up.

"Why am I in your bed?" Merlin looked at him suspiciously. Arthur scoffed.

"You were sobbing and shaking all night, so I thought you might like to sleep with someone like the absolute child you are." 

Merlin stared at him, a blush creeping up his neck, "I slept in your bed."

Arthur rolled his eyes in an attempt to distract him from his own blush, "We've already established this, Merlin."

Merlin just continued to stare at him, unsure of how to react. Arthur could just have easily taken him to his own bed.

Thankfully, he was saved by a knock at the door. Merlin tried his hardest to hide a sigh of relief, and failed miserably.

"I'll get it!" Merlin tore himself away from Arthur's gaze and leapt out of the bed, running towards the door. Shaking his head, Arthur put a shirt on and made his way towards the table.

When he opened the door, a servant was there waiting with their breakfasts. Merlin, flustered, thanked him and clumsily shut the door. He hurridley put the plates on the table and raced into his own room to get dressed. From the table, Arthur smiled at Merlin's embarrassment, finding it amusing.

When Merlin came back out in a red shirt, blue scarf and breeches, he sat down and quietly started on his breakfast, unable to make eye contact. Arthur frowned, suddenly spotting the small puddle the discarded clothes had left on the floor. Now wasn't the time embarrassment. There were questions to answer.

"Merlin." Arthur said, lowering his bacon back onto the plate, "About last night."

Merlin stopped chewing and looked at Arthur. He swallowed, "What about it?"

Arthur sighed, "The monster."

Merlin lowered his sandwich and bit his lip. Finally, he looked up, "I heard a voice when me and Gwaine were making our way back from Byrne's rooms. I'm sure Gwaine just shook it of as a headache, but the cause for pain was a voice in my head. It was trying to get my attention."

Arthur stared at his plate, tongue in his cheek, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Merlin shifted in his seat, "Arthur-"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He flinched at the sudden volume of his voice, but it made Merlin realise that more lies weren't what Arthur wanted.

"I didn't know how you'd react. I thought you'd... call me stupid and then focus on the match."

"Stupid? Why would I call you stupid for hearing a voice in your head?"

"Because that's what you always do! I mean - did." Merlin corrected, "Whenever I had some protest or revelation and I told you, you would always just call me ridiculous and then go and see to the matter at hand. I thought that if I told you I heard a voice in my head then you'd just roll your eyes and focus on King Deslin."

Arthur didn't know what to say. He could recall plenty of times where Merlin had been telling the truth, only for Arthur to realise it much, much later. He pondered Merlin's words for a while, aware that this was new for the both of them.

"Merlin." Arthur began quietly, trying to figure out what to say, "Things are different now."

Merlin was silent. So, Arthur continued, "You being right all the time didn't have anything to do with the fact that you had magic. You were always looking out for me and you always did what you thought was best, even if I didn't believe you, and I can't thank you enough for that."

Merlin continued staring into his lap. Arthur inhaled, "Now that I finally understand just how loyal you are, I realise that you are the person that I can trust the most. But for that to mean anything, you have to trust me as well. No matter how many times you save my life, keeping secrets from me isn't going to benefit our trust. If anything, it'll make it worse. I didn't believe you then because I was to much of an idiot to see what was right in front of me. Now, you're being an idiot for refusing to see that I am finally ready to listen to you. Please, Merlin. I don't want you to be alone anymore, but I can't do anything if you won't let me in."

Merlin stiffened, and Arthur relaxed slightly when he saw a smile tugging on Merlin's lips, "Did you just call yourself an idiot?"

Arthur scoffed, "I just gave an amazing speech from my own beating heart and that's what you pick up on?"

Merlin's grin widened, "You finally admitted you're an idiot."

"I called you an idiot as well, don't gloss over that."

"Right." Merlin laughed. Arthur couldn't help but smile as he stared at the sun that shone in Merlin's eyes.

"Guess we're both just a pair of idiots." Arthur shrugged, chucking a bit of his bacon at Merlin.

"A pair of idiots who need to learn to listen to each other." Merlin took the bacon that had landed on his plate and ate it. Arthur laughed as he started eating again. Taking that as his que, Merlin picked up his sandwich.

"So," Arthur began again, "Tell me the full story of what happened last night."

Merlin leapt into the story with a new found vigour, eager to show Arthur that he had learnt his lesson. He told him everything, from the sheer number of heads the snake had to the spell he used to disarm the illusion on the castle wall.

"Illusion?" Arthur frowned, "So someone must have put it there in the first place?"

"Exactly!" Merlin answered, "And I think we both know who."

Arthur's frown deepned, "But he said himself that his magic wasn't very strong."

"And he wasn't lying, I could sense it. He doesn't have much at all." Merlin shook his head, finishing off his sandwich, "But the illusion was powerful, it could have fooled anyone. It would have had me fooled if the snake didn't tell me how to reveal it."

"Perhaps that's his specialty, then?" Arthur guessed, "Illusory magic?"

A grin spread across Merlin's face, "For once, I think you're right."

"Great! So, does illusory magic have some sort of... weakness?" Arthur guessed, waving his bread around. Merlin laughed, pinched the bread out of his hand and ate it.  
"Illusory magic doesn't have a weakness. You just need to know the spell to disarm them."

"But you said that the water-"

"That's with elemental magic, it's a completely different story." Merlin explained. Arthur nodded along, "I have a lot to learn."

Merlin scoffed, "You and me both. Believe me, not even I've learnt it all yet. I'll be as old as Gaius when I have."

Arthur laughed along with him until he sunk back into his thoughts, "And is the spell the same for all illusions?"

Merlin frowned, "I'm not sure. I only know the one that the snake told me. You think there are more illusions around the castle?"

"There has to be. Maybe not caves with snake monsters inside them, but... he has to have something up his sleeve to maintain his influence!"

Merlin took the information into consideration, "Even if there are more illusions, I don't think we'll be able to find them. The wall was really convincing, and if I start murmuring ' **Datgelu** ' everywhere he's bound to get suspicious."

"Then we can't worry about that right now." Arthur agreed. After a brief moment of silence, Arthur checked outside the window, "The sun's up. Leon's match will be starting soon. Best start getting dressed."

"Yes, sire." Merlin agreed before going to fetch Arthur's armour.

After Merlin had gotten Arthur suited up, the two headed towards the arena.

"Would it be wise to tell the knights, Sire?" Merlin asked, making sure he walked behind Arthur as another servant passed them.

Arthur considered it for a minute, "Yes. I suppose it'd be a bit hypocritical if we start leaving our knights out of things. Plus, if the snake tries to lure any of them into a trap, they'll be ready."

"Yes, Sire." Merlin nodded, jogging to keep up.

When the two finally entered the tent, the knights had to pause their greetings when they saw the dire looks on their faces.

"Gentlemen." Arthur announced, looking each of his men in the eye, "It seems we have a problem on our hands."

With permission from his prince, Merlin stepped forward and launched into his adventure from last night, the knights expressions ranging from confused to shocked to horrified.

"A monster?" Elyan echoed, "An actual monster and you didn't think to ask for our help? You could have been killed!"

"The snake sent pain into my head whenever I made a mistake, I couldn't exactly take a detour." Merlin defended, "Besides, I feel fine, all I have's a few bruises and a little light-headdedness from when I almost drowned."

Gwaine raised his eyebrows, "Almost drowned?"

"Nearly almost drowned."

"And King Deslin ordered the snake to lure you into that trap?" Leon asked.

Merlin's face turned grim, "I think so."

Percival sat down, rubbing his temples, "I'll kill him."

Gwaine snatched a sword from the rack, "Right behind you, bud."

"Hold it!" Arthur took back Gwaine's sword and returned it, "I understand how you all must feel, but we need to keep a level head. Merlin, could you help Leon with his armour?"

"Yes, Sire." Merlin nodded. He gave a small smile to Leon, who let him help without protest.

"You did well fighting something like that all by yourself." Leon told him as Gwaine and Arthur argued in the background, "We'll make a knight out of you yet." Merlin chuckled, smirking.

"I'm no knight." He shook his head, "I'm just loyal to Arthur."

"Aren't we all." Leon smiled fondly at the man who was now trying to reason with the rest of the knights, "After all the mistrust, deciet and lies that he's had to fight his way through, the thing he needs most right now is you. You're easy to trust, and that's what people are going to need when we lift the ban on sorcery. You'll make a perfect Court Sorcerer when the time comes, Merlin."

Merlin lowered his arms and stepped away from Leon, tears shining in his eyes, "It means a lot to hear that. Thank you, Leon."

Leon returned his smile and then looked up as a horn sounded from outside the tent.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer began, "Welcome to the 3rd day of the first round!"

A pause for polite applause, then the announcer continued, "First, a knight who has accomplished much while surounded by sorcerers, Krymen!"

"A knight, huh?" Elyan nudged Leon, "Seems you got lucky, old friend."

"Shame. I wanted a challenge." Leon spoke back as he took his place behind the flap of his tent.

"And one of the few Knights that have remained loyal to Camelot for his entire life! The noble Sir Leon!"

Leon stepped out, and his smile faded when he found out just who Krymen was.

The knight he had fought against in the preliminaries. The knight who has thrown mud in his face.

Leon looked at him supiciously. The knight seemed to watch his every movement with a confident smirk, as if challenging him to find something wrong with his stance. He had adopted the basic stance, with his feet slightly apart, his shoulders hunched and ready and a shield and sword in each hand. Unable to find anything suspicious, Leon settled for his own stance, keeping an eye on Krymens collar.

Sure enough, the thing flowed for just a second, and Krymen's challenging eyes quickly turned cold and empty. His lips moved, and while Leon didn't catch it, he already knew what he was saying. Leon scowled, the announcer raising his hand in Leon's peripherals.

"Begin!"

Leon allowed Krymen to have the first attack, if only to gain an idea of his attack patterns. He met every blow with his own sword, noticing that he preferred his right leg and swung with more strength there. Still, it didn't stop Leon from being suspicious. The guy had played dirty before. There was no reason why he would do it again.

Leon countered the attack with one of his own, hitting Krymen's sword with stronger parries. Leon grinned when he saw Krymen's eyes widen. Just two attacks had passed between the two and it was already obvious who was the most experienced. The crowd watched on as Leon drove him back with his parries.

Krymen blocked with his shield and the sword bounced off harmlessly. Leon allowed his opponent a little breather, but didn't let his eyes of him for a second. Though the man had been shaken, he was still grinning. Leon tensed, sword ready in hand.

The two tested the other's strength around the arena, taking it in turns to attack the other. Eventually, when Krymen was attacking Leon's shield, Krymen suddenly spun and left Leon staring straight ahead of him. Taken by surprise, Leon gave a shout as he felt a sharp kick to the back of the leg.

He hit the dirt, and had to let go of both his sword and shield in order to turn himself around. Thanks to years of training, though, he managed to grab his sword and meet Krymen's with a clang.

The two wrestled, Leon not all liking how much of a disadvantage he was in at being sprawled on the ground. Krymen had flung their swords of each other and was now grabbing Leon's wrists in a power struggle. Leon thought he felt a slight prick in his wrist, but quickly discarded the thought. He had bigger things to worry about.

With a grunt, Leon was finally able to throw Krymen off. Krymen let off and grabbed his own shield and sword, while Leon did his own. He got up, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Odd. He didn't remember straining himself that much.

Krymen started attacking again with a vengeance, putting everything he had into keeping Leon busy. Parries and thrusts were deflected left and right between the two of them, but every time they parted, Leon felt himself getting more and more exhausted. Something wasn't right.

Leon cast a look to King Deslin, but he was looking on with the same immersed expression as everyone else. He was just as clueless as to what was going to happen as everyone else. No, something else was up.

Then, Leon looked at Krymen and narrowed his eyes at the cocky grin that Krymen had been wearing the entire time. Why was he grinning so much? Leon had proved to be a far better match then him...

Krymen lunged again, and Leon blocked it, their swords sliding of each other. If he was more experienced than Krymen, then why did he feel this out of breath?

Leon studied Krymen as they fought. The cocky grin, the confident eyes, the clumsy slip-ups, the beginners mistakes, the wrist that seemed so sure-

Wait.

"Stop the match!" Leon suddenly roared. In a burst of anger, he managed to fling Krymen's sword to the side, "Stop the match!"

King Deslin stood, a curious look on his face, "Sir Leon?" He asked, "Do you wish to withdraw from the match?"

Leon scowled. As if he would ever do such a thing, "Your Majesty, I would like your knight to be searched from top to bottom please." He panted. Had it always been this hot?

Arthur jogged up to him as the announcer spoke to two guards, "Leon? What's the meaning of this?"

"He's using other methods, Sire, I'm sure of it." Leon said earnestly. Arthur was about to reply when the two guards that had been speaking to the announcer arrived. Leon nodded to them and jerked his head in Krymen's direction. Leon watched closely as Krymen was asked to stretch his arms out and keep his legs apart. All the while he was glaring at Leon, his confident smile now long gone.

Holding his breath, Leon watched as the guards patted Krymen down. Along his legs, his chest, his neck... then, when they started patting down his arms...

"Hold on!" One of the guards called, "We've found something!"

Leon breathed a sigh of relief, sweat pouring down his face. Grinning, he swept matted curls away from his eyes. Why was he so sweaty? He didn't exert himself that much, did he? 

Arthur and Leon joined the guards, who were inspecting something.

"A needle." One of the guards answered their unspoken question, "Found hidden in his leather glove, Sire!"

King Deslin was brought to attention. He took in the information grimly, "I see. Well, I suppose I must congratulate your sharp eye, Sir Leon. You're onto the next round, I'll see to it that this disgraceful young man is punished for what he's done. You're dismissed."

Arthur laughed, "That's Sir Leon!" He patted Leon on the back, who buckled slightly under the weight, "Always with one eye open!"

The two made it back to the tent where the others were waiting.

"That was close!" Elyan frowned, watching with disgust as Krymen was led away, "Are you alright?"

"Should be." Leon muttered, "It was easy, though."

"Look on the bright side." Gwaine grinned, "You'll get a challenge when you fight me in the second round!"

Percival slapped him on the shoulder, "You haven't even won your first fight yet!"

Leon blinked as Gwaine's retort became distorted. That was weird. He turned with the others as a guard entered the tent.

"Yes? What is it?" He heard Arthur say.

"It's the needle, Your Majesty. We just wanted to make sure Sir Leon was alright." The guard bit his lip, examining Leon, "It was poisoned."

Ah. That was it.

Shouts of alarm cried out as Leon hit the floor with a thud.


	15. A weight full of admiration

As soon as he hit the ground, the guard rushed out and shouted for some servants to get Leon to the infirmary. Seconds later, two servants rushed in and took the body off Elyan and Percvival, who had intended on taking Leon there themselves.

When they arrived in the Physcian's chambers, the two servants put him on the bed and the knights crowded around him as the servants left.

"Stand aside!" They heard a voice say from behind them. Reluctantly, they parted, and a woman in her 30's was revealed. She had blonde hair that had been tied back in a braid, stray hairs poking out every which way. Her brown eyes were slightly wrinked and heavy with exhaustion, so much so that she didn't look to be in her 30's at all. Upon closer inspection, Merlin could see that the roots of her hair were grey. Merlin's breath hitched when he also saw the collar wrapped around her neck like an iron fist.

They all watched with bated breath as the woman checked Leon's temperature. As she did so, she spoke to them, "The guards tell me it was a needle covered in poison?"

Arthur nodded, "It was. Found in his glove."

The woman grunted, apparently ending their conversation. She took off Leon's own gloves and tossed them at Merlin, who only just caught them and put them on the bed stand. 

They watched as she carefully examined Leon's wrist. Eventually, she grunted again.

"Found it. The punture wound. The skin around it is turning a slight shade of green, so it's most likely poison from a Pixie. Always hated those little buggers."

"But you can save him?" Elyan asked. The phycisian rolled her eyes.

"Of course I can bloody well save him, I'm Court Phycisian for a reason, aren't I?" She scoffed. The group shot glances at each other, clearly missing Gaius.

"Thank you, miss..." Arthur trailed off, in search for a name.

"Adelaine" The woman said without missing a beat, "Your friend will be fine in about 2 days."

"2 days?" Percival echoed, "Are you sure?"

"The one good thing about Pixies," Adelaine started, "Is that they're magical creatures. Which means that their poison can be cured through magic methods."

Without explaination, Adelaine put a hand on Leon's head.

" **Ge hailige.** "

Her eyes glowed gold and, as soon as they did so, Leon's uneven breathing slowed down and returned to an even pace.

"There." Adelaine took her hand off his head, "He should be well and rested in just 2 days time. In time for his match in the second round, I believe."

"Well isn't that just swell." Gwaine grinned, "We can't have him missing the match where I defeat him, now, can we?"

"Speaking off..." Merlin looked out of the window to see the sun's position, "You'd better get going. The second match of the day will be starting soon."

"Right." Gwaine nodded, "Well, I shouldn't be too long. Won't even notice I'm gone."

"Hey, I'm coming with you!" Elyan called after him, "I'm running out of stories to make fun off you with!"

"Count me in! I want to see what luck you manage to pull out of that bird's nest of yours!" Percival smiled. He turned to Adelaine, torn, "Are you sure Leon's going to be alright?"

"Fit as a fiddle befere you even know it." Adelaine droned as if she had said it a thousand times before, "Now go have your fun, the room's getting cramped anyway."

Gwaine, Elyan and Percival nodded to their prince before running out of the room and down to the arena. 

Adelaine looked at the three remaining people suspiciously, "You're not going to join them?"

Arthur, Lancelot and Merlin cast glances at each other before Arthur replied, "We'd rather not leave Leon alone. He is our friend, after all."

"Off course, well, feel free to stay as long as you like, so long as you don't cause trouble."

"Where are the other patients?" The question occured to Lancelot before he had time to think it through, "I mean... the ones that lost their matches?"

"Oh, don't worry about those." Adelaine shrugged, "Their injuries were minor, only in here for a few minutes. Speaking off, you, serving boy."

Merlin started, "Uh, me?"

"Yes, you, idiot. Sit down on that bed over there, I'll take care of that bruise."

Merlin unconciously put a hand to his cheek. The bruise had formed when he had come crashing to the ground during his fight with the snake. Now, it had turned a mottled purple, "Oh, no, I couldn't-"

"Don't be ridiculous, sit down." She nodded towards the nearest bed and Merlin sat, looking uncomfortable.

They waited in silence as Adelaine grabbed the necessary materials. After she had done so, she sat next to Merlin on the bed, "Tilt your head."

Merlin did so without questions. Arthur looked at him amazed, "Wish you'd follow my orders like that."

Merlin scoffed, "Prat - ow!" Whatever the rest of Merlin's retort was, it was cut off by the remedy that was being slathered onto the bruise.

"Oh, hush, it's not that bad." Adelaine scolded, applying the pressure just to prove a point, "Now sit still, or else you'll only make it worse."

Arthur watched in sadistic pleasure as Merlin writhed uncomfortably, trying his best to hide the bruises that littered his arms.

"And don't go trying to hide those bruises - in fact, take off that ruddy jacket, it's getting on my nerves."

Merlin scowled, but complied. Arthur's eyes widened at the green, purple and brown bruises and the small red scrapes that were already covering Merlin's arms. Judging from Lancelot's sharp intake of breath, he had a similar reaction.

"Now." If Adeliane had been shaken at all by the sight she didn't show it, "Would you care to tell me how you managed to get all these injuries?"

"I - I, uh..." Merlin looked at Lancelot helplessly, "I fell down some... stairs?"

"Merlin!" Came Arthur's sharp reply. Merlin flinched. Both Arthur and Lancelot knew where the bruises had come from, even if they hadn't known the severity of his injuries. Even so, what were they going to tell Adelaine?

Just as he was about to open his mouth, the door opened and King Deslin barged in. Merlin tensed and hugged himself , trying his best to hide the worst of his arms.

"Ah, Prince Arthur! Your knights told me you would be in here!" King Deslin exclaimed, "I just wanted to apologise for that young man's behaviour, and I assure you that his treatment of your knight had nothing to do with me."

"Oh, of course, thank you, King Deslin." Arthur nodded and flashed him a quick smile, eager to see him leave. However, as soon as he saw Adelaine, his smile fell, "Adelaine I want that knight treated as quickly as possible, got it?"

"Yes, your highness." Adelaine practically spat out. Arthur and Lancelot glanced at each other, both of them spotting the sheer hatred that had flashed through her eyes. King Deslin seemed to have spotted it as well, as his scowl deepened as soon as the words left her mouth. Then, to Merlin's horror, his eyes landed on him.

"Good lord, servant, what happened to you?" King Deslin started. Merlin lowered his eyes and hunched over even more, trying to make himself smaller, "I, um... tripped and fell. His majesty made me carry to much armour."

"What he meant to say is that he's so useless at everything he does that he couldn't even handle a few pieces of armour without sending it everywhere. Isn't that right, Merlin?" 

Arthur nudged him gently, aware of the bruises. If they could continue telling jokes with each other instead of acting like they had something to hide, then it might just make King Deslin less suspicious of them.

Merlin nodded, aware of what Arthur was trying to do. King Deslin looked at them oddly, then shrugged and turned to Adelaine, "I suppose it couldn't hurt to patch him up as well." He sighed, "But make sure that the knight is fit to fight in the second round. Someone dying on us is the last thing we need!"

"Yes, your highness." Adelaine repeated, her eyes narrowing. King Deslin's gaze had turned back to Merlin as he studied the bruises more closely, "However clumsy your prince claims you are, those are no bruises that you gain through tripping up over armour. I'd be wise, if I were you, servant," He practically spat the word, "It almost looked like you've been through a match yourself."

Without waiting for a response, the King left, leaving four stunned gazes in his wake.

Merlin breathed out a sigh of relief, breifly forgetting that Adelaine was there. Even Arthur visibly relaxed. Adelaine looked at them both suspiciously.

"Alright." She snapped, pursing her lips, "Just how did you get those bruises, boy?"

Merlin bit his lip, and then looked at Arthur and Lancelot. They understood his silent question and nodded, "First of all," Arthur began, "Can we trust you?"

As Adelaine raised her eyebrows, Arthur continued, "It wouldn't take a genius to know that you hate King Deslin, you didn't bother trying to hide it. So, can we trust you?"

Adelaine looked at them all in turn, "That depends. Do you hate King Deslin as much as I do?"

Lancelot studied her, "We believe he's up to no good. Could you help with our inquires?"

Adelaine glanced between the two of them, and then at Merlin's injuries. "Tell me how the boy got his injuries and I'll tell you all that I can."

Arthur gave a bitter smile. Finally, they were getting some answers. He nodded at Merlin, and the servant told her all about everything that had happened that night.

"Then the snake said something weird..." Merlin knitted his eyebrows together in feigned confusion, "Something like... delgatu, and then the wall disappeared."

"You mean **Datgelu**." Adelaine corrected, "It's a type of illusory spell. Carry on."

And then Merlin carried on explaining the story, subsituting the parts where he used magic for minor details such as miraculously managing to make it to the shore in time and kicking the snake in one of it's faces instead of encasing it in earth. With that, Merlin finished his story, waiting anxiously for Adelaine's response.

"You poor thing." Adelaine muttered, treating the wounds with a little extra care, "The monster's never been so hungry as to lure someone into a trap before. King Deslin must be negelcting it in favour of the tournament."

"So you've known about the beast for sometime?" Arthur figured, "Why haven't you told anyone?"

"They wouldn't believe me." Adelaine shrugged, "What with King Deslin breathing over their shoulders all day, they'd just call me crazy and then carry on, even if they did have their suspicions."

Arthur nodded, knowing all to well that it was most likely true, "So, does the beast have a name?"

"Probably, but I don't know what it is." Adelaine shrugged, "Only King Deslin and I know about it's existence."

"And how did you come about it?" Lancelot asked.

"The snake's venom." Adelaine answered, "I'm the strongest in all of Rivkah when it comes to healing magic. A few years ago when King Deslin kept coming back with snake venom in his veins, he was forced to answer that he was trying to tame the beast deep within the castle. Then, about a year later, he succeeded with several of his most powerful sorcerers. Knowing what the King was capable of, the monster started obeying him. After he had it tamed, he killed the sorcerers that were involved so that they couldn't spread rumours." "What if he finds out you're telling us all this?" Lancelot asked. Adelaine shrugged.

"At first, he was cautious with his power, killing anyone who knew about the monster. Now, I'm sure he doesn't really care about who knows and who doesn't. Besides, my skill with healing magic makes me to important to kill." Adelaine said, now wrapping Merlin's arms up in bandages, "It doesn't really matter who opposes you when you've got an invincible army and ravenous monster at your command."

"I suppose." Arthur sighed, "Anything more you can tell us?"

"That's all, I'm afraid." Adelaine said, "All I could really tell you was information about the monster. I don't know anything else."

"Thank you, anyway." Lancelot smiled, "You've been a great help."

"Alright, you." Adelaine stood up, examining her work on Merlin's arms, "That' the best I can do for you right now. How do you feel?"

"I feel great!" Merlin grinned, waving his arms around, "They don't hurt at all."

"That's what I like to hear." Adelaine smirked. Merlin beamed at her, the bruise on his cheek now long gone, "You can take the bandages off in the evening and the bruises should have all gone by then. If not, come back to me, and I'll patch you back up. Either way, you should be right as rain by morning."

"Thank you, Adelaine." Merlin nodded, standing. Arthur smiled at him.

"I suppose we should get going, now that we know we can trust you." Arthur turned to Adelaine, "Take care of Leon, will you?"

"That's my job." Adelaine replied, already getting on with other matters. The three grinned at each other before heading back down to the field.

Several minutes earlier, Gwaine, Elyan and Percival watched as King Deslin left their tent after asking for Arthur's location.

"He looked mad." Elyan bit his lip, "Should we try to warn Arthur?"

"Arthur can take care of himself, besides, there's no way we'll get there before him." Percival shook his head and then turned to Gwaine, "It's almost time. You ready, little man?"

"Yeah. Hold on. Think I'm stuck." Came Gwaine's muffled voice as he tried to tug the chainmail over his head, "Come on..."

"So that's a no?" Elyan raised an eyebrow, casually watching the scene before him in amusement.

"It's a yes in spirit. I am ready to kick some serious arse." Elyan did his best to contain his laughter as Percival walked over to help Gwaine, "Oi, not so hard! Dammit, where's Merlin when you need him..."

"It's caught on your hair!" Percival complained, trying to pull it downwards.

"Don't bring my hair into this, it's done nothing wrong, you're just not strong enough!"

This time, Percival raised his eyebrow, "Not strong enough...?"

To prove Gwaine wrong, Percival tugged with all his might. The chainmail came loose and fell into the right place. Gwaine gave a sigh as his head became visible.

"There. That's better. Now, everything else..."

All three knights looked up as a horn sounded. Gwaine's eyes widened in panic, "Crap, Percival, hurry up!"

Elyan rushed to help them as the announcer spoke, "Introducing, a young knight with strong ambitions, Sir Harold!"

An applause sounded. Gwaine was sweating, "Come on, hurry!"

"Hold on, it's stuck!" Percival scowled as clumsy fingers messed with the strap of a shoulder pad.

"And now, as handsome as he is graceful, the honourable Sir Gwaine!"

"Handsome?" Elyan questioned.

"Graceful?" Percival snickered.

"Alright, I paid the announcer, now move it!"

"But you're not in full armour!" Elyan protested.

"I don't care!" Gwaine wrestled out of Percival's attempts with the shoulder pad, grabbed a sword and shield from the rack and hurried out.

At least, he would have, if he hadn't tripped over over one of the pegs holding the tent up and collapsed onto the ground in a heap for the crowd to see.

"Oh brilliant." Gwaine muttered as laughter sounded around him.

He picked himself up and trudged to the spot in the ring where he would be facing in his opponent, who was snickering.

Gwaine frowned. He would have thought it obvious to any knight that he had evidently tripped in a strategic manner to lower the guard of the inexperienced knight, but no. Perhaps the knight was just to dumb to see through his foolproof scheme that had definately been on purpose. Clearly.

After the laughter had died down, the annoucer raised his hand.

"Begin!"

As Gwaine and Harold circled each other, Gwaine replayed everything that he had learnt in training.

Leon had always stated, time and time again, that the first few moves of a fight were the most important because that was when both sides were at the top of the game, and it was all about deeming the strength of your opponent so that you could strategize on the best way to knock them out. In other words: Never make the first move.

Gwaine made the first move, charging forward and clashing his sword against Harold's shield, briefly forgetting all of Leon's advice in his eagerness to get things over with.

While anyone sensible would have used the first few moves to calcualte his opponents strength, Gwaine, as carefree as ever, continued to push Harold around the ring with no worry whatsoever. He wasn't tense, he wasn't focused, he wasn't the least bit worried. From the sidelines, Elyan flinched, glad that Leon wasn't watching this.

Another thing that was worrying the two knights on the sidelines was that Gwaine was not in his full armour. He was at a disadvantage in the fact that he had neither shoulder pads. If Harold were to start attacking Gwaine's shield, it would put a lot of strain on his shoulders and there would be no pads to protect them, and he would get tired a lot more quickly. They shared a glance. This could put Gwaine in a serious disadvantage.

Meanwhile, back in the ring, Gwaine was having the time of his life.

He was aware of his disadvantage, but only grinned wider at the idea of a time limit. During the time he had been attacking Harold's shield, he had realised that he had picked the wrong sword from the rack. This wasn't Gwaine's sword, it was Percival's, and the damn thing was a whole lot heavier.

Gwaine laughed despite himself as he started feeling the burn in his arms. This was going to be fun. He always did like a challenge.

Harold continued with his attack, and Gwaine felt his arms shake slightly in response. He grunted under the weight of Harold's heaviest blow yet.

"Damn, kid. You've got some moves." Gwaine laughed, "But you're not out of the woods just yet."

Harold looked at him suspiciously, then leapt back, sword and shield at the ready. It was true. The boy couldn't have been older than Merlin, and yet there was still that collar coiled around his neck. Gwiane scowled. First the collars, and now this snake behemoth. King Deslin was going to pay, but first...

Gwaine panted as he flung his sword at Harold's shield, but he was ready for every single one. It only took around six swings before Gwaine had to stop for breath. He cast a glance at the sword in his hand, gasping for breath. Okay. Maybe the sword was heavier than he thought.

Before Harold could swoop in, Gwaine gritted his teeth and continued his flurry of attacks, though instead of attacking the shield, he now went for the sword. Harold grunted in alarm as he quickly parried the first blow, but being unprepared was his mistake. Gwaine saw the surprise and leapt at it, swinging this way and that, grinning at the panicked look on Harold's face. When he finally saw an opening, Gwaine took it, and Harold's sword paid the price.

It flew out of his hand and cluttered onto the ground, lying there helplessly. Harold moved to retrieve it, but Gwaine cut him off with his sword. Harold braced himself with his shield, but no attack came. Gwaine was to tired for that.

Gwaine started circling, using his sword to push Harold further and further away from the dropped sword. Harold watched him with bated breath, unsure of what Gwaine's next move would be.

Without warning, Gwaine threw his sword up into the air. Harold's eyes switched between the sword and Gwaine, unsure of what to do. During the knight's confusion, Gwaine picked up the sword and waved it around. Much lighter. Much better.

Meanwhile, Harold had his attention on the sword in the air, which he had now realised was being thrown towards him. He clutched the hilt and Gwaine grinned as his opponent's eyes widened at the weight. He always did like having the upper hand.

Not giving Harold time to recover, Gwaine gave his new sword a go, swinging it this way and that. Harold tried to keep up, but because he was much weaker and smaller than Gwaine, the heavier sword proved to be even more of a challenge for the knight to wield than it had been for Gwaine.

Knowing the match had been won, Gwaine gave a few more parries to exhaust Harold, waiting for him to drop the sword. To his credit, the knight held on for a long time, his eyes shining with determination, even past all the exhaustion.

Eventually though, the inevitable happened, and Gwaine's sword struck home so hard the Harold's sword went flying out of his hand for a second time, only now his exhaustion meant that he wasn't in time to lift his shield. Gwaine held the sword up and the crowd roared, his previous comedic act forgotten.

"Don't let this get you down, kid." Gwaine panted as the disappointed knight, "You've got you're whole life ahead of you. Give it a few more tournaments, and you'll get your turn."

The young knight nodded at him, his eyes gleaming in admiration. Gwaine gave him his sword back and went to retrieve Percival's, smiling all the way. 

"Sir Gwaine!"

Gwaine's smile fell as King Deslin called him. Trying to keep a straight face, Gwaine marched up to him and bowed.

"Sire." He clipped. If King Deslin was offended by his tone, he didn't show it.

"You did quite well. You certainly turned the table after you're... ah... entrance."

Gwaine gave a sharp nod, "Yes, Sire."

"You're dismissed."

Gwaine couldn't help the grin that spread across his face again as he ran back up to his friends, Arthur, Merlin and Lancelot now with them.

"I believe this is yours." Gwaine smiled as he handed Percival his sword.

"Be careful next time. That could have cost you the match." Percival shook his head, accepting the sword.

"Are you kidding? That sword was the reason I won that match. I picked the sword on purpose, obviously."

"Obviously." Elyan responded, "How're your arms?"

"Fine. Ache a bit, it'll dull down in a minute." Gwaine massaged his shoulder before turning to Merlin, "I see you've gotten yourself patched up from the whole snake fiasco."

"I have, courtesy of Adelaine." Merlin grinned, showing off his bandages. Then he looked up, "So, I heard you tripped..."

Oh no.


	16. A blunder full of cinders

Merlin woke to the sound of howling at his window. Groggily, with the thought of Aithusa passing through his mind, Merlin opened the window only to be buffeted by strong winds. Squinting his eyes through the harsh gusts, Merlin was disappointed when he could see no signs of his baby dragon.

Sighing, he closed the window shut. He got dressed and headed into the prince's chambers, only pausing in surprise to see the prince awake and pacing.

Merlin blinked, "Your dressed."

Arthur paused and looked up, only just noticing him, "Thank you for your immensly valuable input, Merlin."

"But... that means something's wrong." Merlin said, sitting down at the table. 

Arthur made a face at him, "I beg your pardon?"

"Something's always wrong when you decide to get dressed yourself." Merlin stated.

"And what if I just got dressed because I got tired of waiting for you to get your lazy backside in order?"

"You would have woken me up, you never would have dressed yourself!" Merlin explained, "So, what's wrong?"

Arthur stared at him, bewildered, then sat down across from him, "Your bruises."

Merlin shook his head slightly, "What about them?"

"What about-?" Arthur sighed, rubbing his temples, "Why aren't you more concerned about them, Merlin?"

"Because they don't matter now!" Merlin took his jacket off, "See?"

Sure enough, the skin on his arms had now gone back to thier usual palour, with no sign of the colourful bruises that littered them the other day, "Adelaine's medicine worked!"

"I don't care about the medicine, Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed, examining the cheek where the bruise had been, which had also cleared, "I just care that you didn't tell me!"

"You saw the one on my face." Merlin reasoned, "And I fought a giant snake monster, so getting brusies seemed about right. I don't know why you're so worked up about the ones on my arms!"

"Because it's happened before!" Arthur slammed his hands on the table. Then, seeing Merlin's flinch, lowered his voice again, "Hasn't it?"

"Yes." Merlin lowered his eyes, "I've hidden wounds from you before."

At having his fears confirmed, Arthur inhaled, staring at something that Merlin couldn't quite see. After a while, Arthur lowered his hands from his mouth, "And I made you do chores while you had them?"

Merlin nodded, "They weren't that bad-"

"Don't try and sugercoat this, Merlin." Arthur shook his head, "It was my fault that I never realisied that something was wrong with my servant."

Merlin knew it was best not to say anything. Arthur sat, surrounded by his thoughts, as he tried to work through each and every one of them.

"And when you said you were dying." Arthur murmured, "You were-?"

"Yeah." The voice barely came out as a whisper.

"And I thought you were in the tavern." Arthur sighed, "I thought you were being stupid and reckless and impetuous but, Gods, at least you were safe-"

Merlin could only watch as Arthur stood up and paced around the room again. From his servant's quarters, Merlin could hear the strong winds rattle at the window.

"Arthur." Merlin finally stood up and joined him, "Arthur, you need to stop worrying. It's all in the past, you can't do anything about it now."

Arthur looked at him forlornly. Merlin showed him his arms again.

"See? Look - there are no bruises. I'm not hiding anything from you Arthur, not anymore."

"Please, tell me you won't. Ever again." Arthur practiaclly begged.

Merlin shook his head, "I won't. I don't have a reason to anymore."

Arthur sighed and placed his forehead on Merlin's chest. He closed his eyes, shutting out the winds and the fire and focusing soley on Merlin's heartbeat.

"Did Gaius know at least?" Arthur asked, his voice muffled in Merlin's shirt.

"Yes." Merlin said automatically, then, flinching, "Well. Most of them."

Arthur clung on tighter, as if Merlin would disppear if he were to let go, "If you ever do get injured again, I want you to come to my chambers and heal it with magic."

Merlin looked at him, "Really?"

Arthur nodded, "Yes. That way I can learn about who hurt you and more about healing magic."

Merlin felt a smile spreading across his face, "I'm not that good at it."

Arthur scoffed, " Another thing to add to the list, then. Well, it'll be good practice. Having Gaius treat every single injury you get will sooner or later give the poor man a heart attack."

Merlin laughed, "That's what he says everytime I get injured."

"Well, he's right."

The two stood in a long silence, enjoying each other's company and basking in the warmth that the other gave off. Around them, the winds kept howling. Merlin frowned.

"Alright. What's wrong with you?"

Merlin looked at him, "Wrong? What do you mean?"

"You're fidling with that ridiculous scarf. It's been a nervous tick off yours for months now. Come on, spit it out."

"Those winds." Merlin sighed, "Aithusa should be arriving today, but she's only a baby, I don't think she has the strength to fly in this weather."

A moment of silence as Arthur listened to the roaring winds, then hummed in agreement, "I see what you mean."

"If she's been flying for as long as we think she has been, then she's not going to have to strength to continue." Merlin explained his thoughts, "She's most likely going to be delayed."

Arthur pondered this, resting his chin on top of Merlin's, something he had found was not only soothing for Merlin, but calming for him as well, "She'll be fine, Merlin. She's a dragon. I've never heard of a dragon defeated by strong winds before."

Merlin hummed, "Kilgharrah wouldn't be very happy that I was using a baby dragon to deliever a letter."

"I should think not." Arthur smiled into Merlin's hair, "They're dragons, not pigeons."

"That's probably what he would say!" Merlin laughed, "I compare him to a horse sometimes, just to annoy him."

"Another of your brilliant ideas, is it? Annoying a dragon." Arthur mused. Then frowned, "Hang on. Have you rode on a dragon?"

"Yeah." Merlin said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Dragonlord, remember?"

"Good gods." Arthur muttered, staring dumbly at a wall, "You never fail to surprise me, Merlin."

"Well, I'd be boring, otherwise, wouldn't I?" Merlin grinned, "Can't have his royal pratness getting bored, we'd never hear the end of it."

Arthur laughed and was about to issue a retort when there was a knock at the door. Merlin stepped out of Arthur's arms and went to go get answer it while Arthur sat ready and waiting at the table.

Merlin thanked the servant and placed the plates down. The two ate together in a content silence, Arthur still examining Merlin's arms for any sign of bruising and Merlin listening to the winds outside.

"Besides," Merlin spoke as he chewed, "Why are you getting so worked up about me being injured? Whenever I make a fuss over you and your tournaments, you call me a girl."

"Because you are a girl."

Merlin ignored this, "I mean, you've hidden wounds from me before, all because you wanted to proceed in some game!"

"Tournaments are not games!"

"Are they competitions designed solely for fun?"

Arthur glared at him.

"I rest my case." Merlin chewed his sandwhich with a sense of finality, "You've hidden wounds from me just as much as I've hidden wounds from you."

Arthur sighed, staring at his bacon. "Guess we just... worry about each other to much."

"Off course." Merlin said, "I'm never not going to worry about you, Arthur."

"Same here." Arthur smiled, "Though with the amount of scraps you get yourself into, I wouldn't be surprised if you've already knocked a decent few years off."

"You can't put me in the stocks for making you stressed, Sire."

"What about giving me a good scare?"

"I do that on a day to day basis, we'll have a famine in less than a week."

"We could use magic. An entire pile of vegetables specifically for my idiot servant."

"Well, you're going to need your own vegetable patch if you ever want to reconsider that diet-"

"Merlin! Armour! Now!"

"Yes, Sire!"

A few minutes later, the two left the prince's chambers, striding down to the field. The wind could be heard shaking the castle windows, and the castle walls themselves were cold and hard.

"Do you think this weather is going to affect the match?" Merlin asked, biting his lip as he peered out of the window.

"Perhaps, but Elyan's a fine knight. I'm sure he's capable of a little improvisation." Arthur stared straight ahead, not as worried about the winds as Merlin.

"It's just... these winds are really strong. Is it safe? For the crowd, I mean?" Merlin asked.

Arthur considered this, "They'll be fine, Merlin. King Deslin may be cruel to his outlying villagers, but he still considers himself a King to the people of the citadel. He'll know what's best for them. Anyway, there's going to be plenty of sorcerers at the match. It'll be perfectly safe, Merlin."

"I hope you're right." Merlin muttered to himself. Arthur didn't seem to hear.

They walked down to the tent, Arthur's cape billowing out behind him and flapping at Merlin's face. Merlin swatted it out of the way, not missing the way Arthur laughed in amusement. They crawled through the swaying tent and both gave sighs of relief at being sheltered from the buffeting winds.

"Gentlemen." Arthur greeted, patting down his hair, "How's Sir Leon?"

"He's doing well, he's awake now." Percival smiled, "He wasn't surprised at all when Gwaine said he won his match."

"Of course not! Was there ever any doubt?" Gwaine smirked.

"You mean apart from the fact that you were missing half your armour and had a sword that weighed a ton?" Elyan questioned, grinning.

"Just made my victory all the more impressive!" Gwaine beamed.

"You tripped the minute you walked out of the tent." Percival deadpanned.

"So I had a few slip-ups! They happen!" Gwaine defended as his friends laughed.

"Well, if we don't want it to happen again, I'd say it's best that Elyan get into his armour now." Arthur spoke through the laughter, "Merlin?"

"Yes, Sire." Merlin responded, grinning, already fetching Elyan's breastplate, "See, this is why I'm here. The minute I become occupied with something else, Gwaine becomes a disaster. You lot wouldn't last a day without me-"

"Gwaine was always a disaster." Arthur retorted, "I'm sure we're all capable of looking after ourselves, Merlin."

"I've saved your life more times than Gwaine's been in tavern fights."

"Believe me, that's not true." Gwaine responded, laughing.

The rest joined him, all silently agreeing that Merlin, no matter how idiotic, no matter how incapable, had saved their lives more times than they could say.

"Knights." Merlin scolded in his head, "Idiots, the lot of them."

When Merlin tuned back into the conversation, he realised that Arthur and Lancelot were telling Gwaine, Elyan and Percival what Adelaine had told them yesterday.

"She said that King Deslin had tamed the snake through means of other sorcerers he had enslaved." Lancelot explained, "When the deed had been done, he killed them all so that they couldn't spread rumours. Now, the only one who knows about the monster underneath the castle is him, Adelaine and ourselves."

"Bastard!" Gwaine spat, "He keeps getting worse and worse with every damn day!"

"I know, but we'll find a way to stop him." Arthur explained, putting a hand on Gwaine's shoulder to calm him down, "Gaius' information should be coming to us soon. With any luck, it should tell us how to stop the collars on the army's necks."

"Unfortuantely, these winds might delay Aithusa." Merlin joined in, "I don't know where she is or when she'll arrive, but she can't be far. She can look after herself."

"You don't think anything bad has happened to her?" Lancelot asked, "I'm sorry for bringing up the worst but it has to be considered."

Merlin shook his head, "I would have felt it if she had been in any pain."

"Well then." Percival frowned, not liking the conclusion one bit, "I guess the best we can do is wait."

Just then, the horn sounded. Merlin handed the correct sword and shield over to Elyan.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer bellowed, "Welcome to the fourth and final day of the first round!"

Cheers rose and then dipped again just as quickly. The announcer continued, "There will be yet another minor feast to congratualte the victors so far, and everyone is invited! But now, for our first match. The second half of the Dynamite Dynamos, the fiesty Cinders!"

The crowd roared as Cinders stepped into the ring. Elyan could feel himself tense. It was no secret that Cinders and Byrne were sisters, and if Cinders was as strong as someone who could go up against Prince Arthur, well. Elyan had his work cut out for him.

"And last but not least, from hardworking blacksmith to noble Knight of Camelot, Sir Elyan!"

With one last glance at the prince he so loyally served, Elyan stepped out of the tent and into the ring. Cinders was waiting for him with a polite smile and kind eyes. She looked the spitting image of her sister, only scars littered her cheek and collar. A kind face covered in injuries. Elyan was reminded horribly of Merlin.

He took his place, eyes peeled for the tell-tale signs that had been happening with all the knights under King Deslin's control. Sure enough, the winds picked up and the stone glowed briefly, the chant "Serve King Deslin" a whisper on Cinders' lips. The announcer raised his hand.

"Begin!"

Elyan stepped forward and began his attack, not wanting Cinders to trap him with a spell on the very first move.

The wind carried the sound of his sword clashing her shield, making it echo around the entirety of the arena. Like her sister, Cinders had been given a shield to defend herself against the sword, but Elyan didn't miss the dagger that she clutched in her hand. Not wanting to give her a chance to use it, Elyan continued his onslaught, refusing to let up. However, Elyan didn't have a chance. He gritted his teeth as Cinders eyes flashed gold.

" **Ligfyr!** "

Elyan was forced to jump back as a wall of fire separated them. He had recognised the spell from Arthur's match, and he watched helplessly as Cinders regained her breath, his entire first move wasted.

When the wall died down, Elyan instead held his shield out in front of him. If getting her tired didn't work, then he'd just need to stay on the defensive until he worked out a better strategy. 

Biting his lip, he clutched his shield as Cinders held her hand out.

" **Forbaerne Ackwele!** " 

When he realised he didn't know that spell, Elyan panicked when a fireball materialised out of thin air. Cinders rolled it around her palm until it was about the size of her head. Elyan tensed, readying his shield.

With a wave of her hand, Cinders sent it flying towards him. Elyan gave a shout of surprise at the speed, but had just enough time to block it with his shield.

Grunting with the effort, Elyan managed to dig his feet into the ground and swing the shield, forcing the fireball back at Cinders.

The fireball was sent flying in the opposite direction, but Cinders was ready. She took her dagger out of her sheath and swung her arm at it.

Elyan was amazed to see the dagger become engulfed in the fireball. With years upon years of seeing his own father craft dagger after dagger, seeing one made of magic almost made Elyan cry. To think magic could create such a beautiful and powerful thing.

His wonder was short-lived though, as he quickly became aware of the fireball that was being hurled his way.

Once again, Elyan grabbed his shield and reflected it. Cinders returned it with an equal amount of vigour, neither of them refusing to let up.

The ball was passed between them, the wind tossing it this way and that, making it even more unpredictable. The surface of Elyan's shield quickly became burnt, and he was rapidly breathing in smoke. He coughed, but didn't let it take his attention off the match.

As soon as the ball was in Cinder's range, she swung at it with a shout. But, now that there was smoke everywhere, Elyan had a plan.

Instead of striking the ball at her again, Elyan grabbed his shield, tilted it upwards slightly, and took the fireball full force.

Sweat pouring down his face, he had to jump slightly in order to get the shield, and thus the fireball, to move. Because of the angle, the fireball was propelled up into the sky, swallowed by the sky of smoke.

Cinders stared after it dumbfounded, but, when she realised her mistake, Elyan was already gone. Using the winds to cloak his footsteps and the smoke to hide his figure, Elyan snuck around the ring, not for one second taking his eyes of Cinders.

With a glow of her eyes, Cinders disenchanted the fireball, knowing it would no longer be off use. Her dagger firmly gripped in her right hand, she spun slowly in a circle, beady eyes scanning for any signs of where Elyan would be.

Elyan had managed to get behind her and was preparing to attack. He paused when he heard her shout:

" **Forbaerne yfel!** "

Remembering the spell from Arthur's match, Elyan jumped to the side to avoid the circle of flames. However, he needn't had bothered. The flames weren't meant for him. Elyan stared as the flames surrounded Cinders. At first, confusion lined his face, but they quickly withdrew when he realised.

She wasn't trapping him. She was defending herself. The flames ruled out all possibility of a surprise attack. His plan had hit another dead end.

Instead, he marched up to her, sword drawn, Cinders turned to face him and sword and shield met over the flames, which were now dying down as Cinders no longer had a use for them.

Elyan tensed as Cinders drew her dagger again. Her eyes glowed gold and the dagger was in flames the second Elyan blinked. He stepped back, his shield ready, not knowing what to expect. Cinders let go off her dagger, and Elyan's eyes widened in surprise when the dagger didn't hit the floor. Instead, it raised into the air and hovered beside her ear, ready and poised like a flaming arrow.

Elyan only had a second to act as the dagger darted forward. Elyan deflected with his shield, and it bounced off harmlessly, only for it to try again and again, every time at a different angle.

Cinders manipulated the dagger to zip and whirl around the arena in an attempt to confuse Elyan. It dived into the smoke, only for Elyan to briefly defend himself when he figured it was behind him. He lashed out blindly with his sword. He was aware that in his panic his swings were becoming more and more wild, but he didn't have time to fix that now. He barely had time to defend himself.

As more time passed, Elyan began to notice more things. His breathing was becoming heavier, his aches were protesting more, his sweat was pouring down his face. He swung against the dagger again, this time with his sword, in a shout of frustration. When the dagger rebounded, he ran up to Cinders and swung with all his might. He got a few frantic hits in before he had to deflect the dagger again. This repeated several times, the dagger acting like an annoying wasp that just wouldn't go away.

Again and again, further and further, more and more frantic as Elyan smashed his sword into her shield. With a short yelp, Cinders crashed to the ground, her shield still at the ready. Elyan loomed over her, panting.

Elyan swung his sword.

The dagger flew into Cinders' hand.

A clash reverberated through the entire arena, the crowd of the edge of their seats.

The smoke cleared.

Elyan's sword had hacked into wood, and Cinders' dagger was pointed at Elyan's neck.

The crowd erupted, and Elyan's world was spinning.

"Cinders!" Elyan heard King Deslin call from the stands, "I never expected anything less!"

With a polite nod and a beam of a smile, Cinders walked over to King Deslin and was congratulated. Still in a daze, Elyan walked back to his tent.

"Bad luck, mate." Gwaine was the first to greet him, hand on his shoulder, "Next one, yeah?"

"Yeah." Elyan choked out, still not entirely sure what had happened. He'd lost?

The crowd were still cheering as Cinders bowed before the king.

He'd lost.

His friends surrounded him, grinning and smiling, complementing him on his performance, and the thoughts were quickly banished from his mind.

"We should get you to Adelaine, see she has anything for your bruises." Elyan heard Lancelot say. Sure enough, a few streaks of red donned his arms from where the dagger had managed to cut him. Since it had been a tournament, the dagger hadn't cut that deeply, but they still stung a fair bit.

"Yeah. I suppose Leon would be glad off some company." He manged a smirk. Then, he winked a Percival, "Hope you'll do a better job at losing than I did." 

"Me? Lose? Who said anything about me losing?" Percival gasped in mock offense at Elyan's retort.

"I did." Arthur joined in, "Not long now before it's me and you."

"I'm ready for it." Percival nodded confidently. Arthur patted him on the back.

"We'll see." Was all Arthur said before he went off to find Merlin.

The world carried on, though Elyan stood still for quite some time. Lunch continued as normal, and the knights still talked and joked.

After lunch, the knights had insisted that Elyan go to Adelaine to get his bruises seen to. Despite the reason why he was going, he looked forward to it. At least now he could discuss his match with Leon and figure out where he was wrong.

Something was up. When it was revealed, he'd do all he could to protect his prince and his friends. He would be able to help later. For now, he was honoured to cheer his friends on from the sidelines.


	17. A distraction full of suspicions

Arthur and Merlin entered the prince's chambers, lunch already set out for them. They entered and Arthur let Merlin take his armour of in silence, staring off into the distance. 

Merlin spared the occasional look at him, frowning.

"Sire? Is everything all right?"

Arthur blinked several times, and, after piecing his thoughts together, spoke, "It seems I underestimated Cinders quite a lot. I didn't think she'd be that strong."

Merlin nodded in understanding. Because of all the smoke that had settled in the arena, the knights on the sidelines had missed a good bit of the match. One minute, Elyan was using the smoke to his advantage and seemed to have the upperhand, the next, he was panicking and flailing over a flying dagger and couldn't do anything to stop it.

"It's true, but Elyan was smiling, Sire. Throughout most of the match and after it. If he can come to terms with it, then so can you."

"I know. I just wish I had seen more of it so I could give him some feedback." Arthur muttered. The ony thing they had seen during the later half of the match was the brief flare of fire in the shadows of the smoke and an occasional sighting of the dagger, which had been whizzing around the arena randomly. Luckily, the strong winds cleared the smoke enough so that they could see what the outcome of the match was.

"Elyan's a fine knight. I'm sure he's already deciphered where he went wrong, Sire." Merlin smiled. When Arthur returned the smile, Merlin knew he had said the right thing. 

"He would." Arthur grinned, "Either that or the knights saw something I didn't and won't stop mentioning it to Elyan for the rest of his life."

Merlin laughed, taking off the last off Arthur's armour and placed it on the bed, ready to be put on again after lunch in time for the second match.

While Arthur sat down and began tucking into his lunch, Merlin loitered around, cleaning up whatever Arthur had thrown around the room and hiding whatever clumps of dust he found before Arthur could spot them and throw a tantrum. Next, Merlin went into the servant's quarters and went over to the window. Opening it, he peered out, squinting his eyes around the wind. No sign of Aithusa. Merlin tried to ignore the pit of worry gnawing at his stomach.

Merlin stepped back into the prince's chambers, trying not to force a smile onto his face.

"No sign of Aithusa." Merlin frowned, sitting at the table across from Arthur.

"You checked just a few hours ago. She'll be a bit longer than that, Merlin." Arhtur smiled fondly as he glanced upwards, "In the meantime, why don't you do something about your hair?"

"My hair? What-" Merlin frowned at Arthur in a silent question as reached up to pat his hair. When he did so, he realised that the winds that had attacked him when he had opened the window must have blown his hair back. Sighing, he clumsily tried patting it back down. Arthur looked on in amusement before shaking his head.

"You're doing it wrong, here-" Arthur laughed as he reached over and combed through Merlin's hair with his fingers. At first, Merlin swatted his help away, but when he was persistent, Merlin eventually dropped his own hand and let Arthur do what he wanted.

"There." Arthur finished, tucking back into his ham and bread, "That'll do."

Merlin glanced at him in confusion, patting his hair again self-conciously, before shrugging and returning to his soup.

Around an hour later, Arthur stood up from their conversation and decided that it was time to go and watch the match.

"Between Tristan and Amason?" Merlin asked, "But we don't know them."

"Still, I'd rather watch the match instead of having King Deslin suspicious of our absence." Arthur said as he picked up his armour, "Now come on, help me with this."

After Arthur was suited back into his armour, Merlin couldn't help but check one last time on Aithusa. After then earning a scolding from Arthur about worrying to much, the two finally left and made their way back into the buffeting winds and into the Camelot tent, where the knights were waiting for them.

"Couldn't stand missing the show, huh?" Gwaine called to them as Arthur once more insisted on patting down Merlin's hair, "None of us are in it, so it'll probably be boring."

"Don't be so quick to underestimate them, Gwaine." Arthur tutted, "Who knows, you might learn something."

"Gwaine? Learn? What?" Percival bit back as he ruffled Gwaine's hair.

"Ah, get off!" Gwaine grunted as the others laughed.

"Is that the plan then?" Lancelot brought up after the laughter had died down, "We're all staying for the match, no... adventures?"

Arthur and Merlin glanced at each other. When Merlin nodded, Arthur looked back at his knights, "Not this time. King Deslin has been getting more and more suspicious of us by the day. If any of us were to suddenly disappear, we'd only be making matters worse. Until Aithusa comes back, we're just going to have to work with what we've got."

Merlin sighed, "Shame, really. Never did like waiting."

"You're just trying to get out of watching the match." Arthur nudged him, "Come on, it'll be fun."

"Two strangers knocking the senses out of one another? I bet it'll be a blast." Merlin scoffed.

Arthur was about to retort when the horn tore through the air, sending the whole arena into silence. With a jerk of his head, Arthur ordered his knights and servant to gather outside of the tent.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer called as the knights exited their tent, "The final match of the first round!"

The crowd clapped, stamping their feet. Inwardly groaning, Merlin plastered a smile on his face and clapped along with them.

"Once again, we'll remind you off the feast that's happening tonight to congratulate all the victors on their current triumphs!"

This time, it was Arthur that inwardly groaned and forced the smile to stay on his face.

"But now, the first contestant, an experienced and trustworthy knight, Sir Tristan!"

The Rivkah tent that was on the other side of the arena, the same vibrant blue of the Rivkah capes, opened up and revealed a man around the same age as Leon, politely waving to the audience. He stepped into the ring and took his position on the far side of the arena, nearest to the Camelot knights, who were studying him in anticipation. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Secondly, a sorcerer who has been training harder than the rest of them, Amason!"

The tent opened again to reveal a slightly younger man with an arrogant smirk that reminded Merlin all to well of Arthur. Unlike Tristan, who was framed with bulk, Amason was tall and lanky, obviously choosing magic over muscle.

"20 on the knight." Gwaine murmured to Lancelot.

Lancelot frowned, "30 on the sorcerer." He answered. Percival looked at them both oddly.

"You're being childish." He scolded. Then, after a small pause, "40 on the knight."

Arthur snorted, "50 on the sorcerer beating Sir Tristan, and then getting his arse kicked by Cinders in the next round."

Gwaine grinned, "You're on."

Merlin watched the entire scene and then rolled his eyes in fond exasperation. Meanwhile, the announcer raised his hand.

"Begin!"

Merlin zoned out the minute the match began. His attention wondered everywhere exept the two that were dueling it out. He had tensed when he noticed their collars glowing and their mouths moving, but there was no new information to be found.

Trying his hardest not to sigh, Merlin spent most of the match watching the crowd, seeing if any of them had any worry on their faces, any of them he could talk to after the match, but nothing. All of them were glued to the match in front of them.

Whenever he could, Merlin chanced a look at the King. Like the crowd, he was leaning forward in his seat, watching the match intently. To any of the crowd, to any of his people, he would look like a king who was watching for any signs of improvements in his knights, or watching for areas where they could improve, focused on how to better his army so that they could diligently protect the people. However, Merlin, who had been reading past masks for years, could see the greedy glint in his eye, and it didn't take him long to confirm his suspicions that King Deslin was up to no good.

After he had confirmed this, Merlin took his eyes of King Deslin, not wanting to be spotted. Finally, after minutes of taking his attention everywhere else, the only thing he had left to focus on was the match. Pursing his lips, Merlin begrudgingly watched.

Seconds later, he found that he was actually quite enjoying it.

He gasped and clapped with the crowd as the two went against each other. Merlin could see Arthur smirking at him in his peripherals, and he knew he wasn't going to hear the end of it. Instead, he immersed himself in the fight, deciding to worry about Arthur's teasing later.

After a few minutes more into the fight, merlin finally found himself enjoying it and even relaxing. Unfortuantely, that was all he was going to get.

With everyone fully immersed in the fight, no one noticed the winds picking up at an alarming rate. One minute, Merlin was clapping at a challenging manouvere that Tristan had managed to pull of, the next all he could hear was screaming.

Turning to the direction of the sound, Merlin saw a section of the crowd screaming and running away as the banners that were above them came crashing down.

In a flash, Merlin had realised that the winds had become so strong that they were knocking a section of the beams and banners off, and that they were now crushing some of the audience.

In a flurry of panicked instict, Merlin felt his eyes glow gold for a second. Before he could stop himself, he felt his mouth form the beginning of a spell.

Thankfully, Arthur was ready.

While the knight went out to help, Arthur grabbed Merlin and put him inside the tent.

"Stay here where it's safe!" Was the only explanation that Arthur gave him before he left the tent and went to help the others. Merlin waited for a second to let Arthur run off before ducking back out again.

He surveyed the area was about to go after Arthur when he spotted Tristan and Amason.

Despite the chaos that was around them, they were still fighting.

When Merlin turned to look at King Deslin, he noticed that he hadn't taken his eyes on the two fighting. While people were rushing left and right in attempt to help those in need, these three people hadn't stopped what they were doing. Merlin narrowed his eyes, frowning. Anger mounted up in him. Why were the two still fighting? Why were they doing nothing to help? Would they get punished by King Deslin if they did? Whatever the answer was, King Deslin was up to no good, and Merlin decided that he was going to do something about it.

The stand that had been affected by the winds were opposite King Deslin, which meant that most people had flocked over there in order to help. Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, Merlin ducked behind the stand that King Deslin was in. Examining it, Merlin saw the beams that were supporting the banners over King Deslin's head and mischievous smile spread across his face as he got an idea. Making sure no one was around, Merlin focused his attention on the beams behind King Deslin, his eyes glowing gold.

" **Ic bebide phis giestaern tacen fielan!** "

The beams snapped and came crashing down on King Deslin. He gave a shout of surprise, and, grinning, Merlin went back to watching the fight, only now the scene had changed.

The two were looking at the disasters in alarm and confusion, before rushing to help the people. Merlin noticed in bitter amusement that they had chosen them over King Deslin.

Merlin ducked back into the tent when he saw that King Deslin was recovering, not wanting to be spotted. There, he waited patiently for Arthur and the knights to return.

Arthur and the knights were busy carrying the collapsed beams away from the arena. They were walking down the steps, lugging them over their shoulders, until all cracked pieces were clear. They then gave them to Byrne and to other sorcerers, who then burned them with fire. Next, whilst Rivkah soldiers tended to their people, the Camelot knights helped tidy up the banners, giving them to sorcerers to be burned afterwards.

With those who were injured being carried off to the physicians and those in shock being tended to by friends and family, the match was postponed slightly. After the cleanup work was done, the Camelot knights ducked back into their tent, where Merlin was waiting.

"Merlin!" Arthur blinked, "You actually followed my orders?"

"No." Merlin shook his head, "I cast a spell so that some beams broke and collapsed on King Deslin."

"You-" Arthur's face turned incredulous as he turned between Merlin's face and the entrance of the tent, obviously torn. Gwaine was laughing, both at Arthur's aghast face and Merlin's challenging smirk.

"Knights, go help King Deslin while I sort out my idiot servant." Arthur managed, not taking his eyes of Merlin.

"You moron, what if you'd been caught!" Arthur struggled to keep his voice down.

"I wasn't." Merlin kept calm.

"What if he'd seen you?"

"He didn't."

"What if someone else had seen you?"

"They didn't." Merlin grinned, "You should have seen his face though."

Arthur stayed silent, but smiled at Merlin's grin. Eventually, the two were laughing.

"You will never stop surprising me, will you?" Arthur shook his head in exasperation.

"I assure you, Sire, no one saw me." Merlin confirmed, his face turning serious, "But there was one thing."

Arthur's face turned serious as well, "What?"

Merlin opened his mouth to speak, but was inturrupted by the horn. Exchanging a glance, the two went outside, where the knights were waiting. The beams and banners that had decorated King Deslin's stand had now been taken down, and he was now back to sitting in his throne, his long hair being whipped around by the wind. The crowd had also calmed down, those that had recovered now in their respective stands, free of all beams and banners.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer called, "Now that everything has settled, the match will now resume!"

Merlin noticed that Tristan and Amason were back in the arena, facing each other. Merlin watched as the announcer raised his arm.

"Begin!"

The match started over again, but Merlin no longer found any enjoyment in it. Instead, his eyes drifted around, watching sorcerers get rid of the beams. He had also noticed that the damage had been done, and the crowd's attention was now wavering, looking around with caution written all over the faces. Merlin noted with suspicion that the only one immersed fully immersed in the fight anymore was King Deslin.

Eventually, Amason gave a triumphant grin as he defeated Tristan, only to be greeted by half the volume of cheers as only some of the crowd noticed. While he got congratulated by King Deslin, the knights and Merlin ducked inside the tent.

"So?" Arthur brought up, "What did you want to say?"

"The banners." Merlin explained without missing a beat, "When they collapsed, Tristan and Amason still kept fighting, they didn't show any reaction at all."

"You mean they didn't notice?" Lancelot frowned.

Merlin shook his head, "I don't think so. The only one who didn't react to the crash was King Deslin. He kept on watching them fight."

"You think they were acting under his orders?" Percival knitted his eyebrows.

"I think so." Merlin nodded, "But, when I distracted King Deslin by dropping those beams on him, the knights immediately stopped fighting and went to help the others."

"Okay so..." Gwaine mulled over the information, "You think they were under some sort of spell?"

"Like mind control?" Arthur scrunched his face up, "Is that even possible?"

"King Deslin's magic isn't powerful enough for that, it's not something he would be able to do by himself." Merlin shook his head, "If it is that, he has to be getting outside help." 

"Adelaine?" Lancelot suggested. Merlin shook his head again, "No, she specialises in healing magic and hates King Deslin. Someone else."

The tent fell silent, each considering their own suspects.

"Well." Arthur piped up, "That can be your mission for tonight. While I suffer to amuse King Deslin, you lot can drag your weight by conversing with the others. Learn as much as you can about King Deslin and try to make a suspect list on who might be giving him outside help."

"Won't he find that suspicious?" Lancelot inquired. Grimly, Arthur nodded.

"I know, but he's already wary of us, and we're to far in to go back now. If he really is enslaving all these sorcerers, then we need to put a stop to it."

As soon as Merlin opened his mouth, Arthur turned to him.

"Merlin, you're not to do anything. For this entire feast."

Merlin's eyebrows immediately furrowed in indignation, "But-"

"No buts. You don't talk to anyone. You don't look at anyone. The last thing we need is King Deslin finding out who you really are. I know you hate it, but you don't have a choice. I want you to stay safe, Merlin."

The lines in Merlin's face softened, until he eventually sighed, "Fine."

Arthur didn't say anymore, and they were dismissed. Arthur and Merlin went to the Arthur's chambers to fetch his ceremonial sword and soon enough it was time to make their way down to the feast.

Like the last one, it was incredibly small, with only contestants and a few members of the court milling around and making chatter. Not bothering to look around, Merlin grabbed a wine pitcher from the side and stood behind Arthur's seat, eyes glued to his feet. Equally as reluctantly, Arthur took his seat beside King Deslin.

"Prince Arthur!" King Deslin greeted with a polite nod, "How are you enjoying the tournament so far?"

"It's been very interesting." Arthur forced a smile as he watched his knights fan out and make conversation, "I didn't expect CInders to be so strong. She took me by surprise."

"Indeed." King Deslin laughed, "She is handy with a weapon, there is no doubt. You think there is any chance you'll be facing her in the final?"

"The final?" Arthur gave a genuine laugh of surprise, "A little far away, don't you think?"

"That may be so, but we both know your skills are exemplorary!" There was a short moment of silence as King Deslin watched Merlin refill Arthur's goblet when he spoke again, "So, who do you think you'll be facing in the final?"

"Well, I still think it's to early for that, but..." Arthur chewed thoughtfully, "I suppose if I win against Percival, I'll be up against either Boar or Lancelot. After that I really couldn't tell you what's going to happen."

"Neither could I." King Deslin answered honestly, "I remembered betting with your father over who was going to win when he held tournaments."

Arthur nearly spat out his drink, "You knew my father?"

"Yes, you didn't know?" King Deslin seemed genuinly surprised, "It's why I wanted to make an alliance with you when I heard he had grown ill."

"Why have I never heard of you before?" Arthur asked.

"Our frienship was before the purge. Then, off course, Uther grew to hate magic after your birth. Since he knew of mine, he cut off ties with my kingdom." King Deslin explained, 

"Not to mention our different attitudes towards it. While I was content with enslaving sorcerers to do my bidding, he insisted on killing every one that he saw."

"So then, why do you think magic corrupts? You have some, don't you?"

Arthur tensed when King Deslin's expression turned dark, "I do, fortunately I only have a little of it. I don't use it that often though, which is what has spared me from it's evil."

Arthur didn't answer. He only nodded as he allowed King Deslin to go back into his memories, "Your father isn't wrong. Magic corrupts everything that it sees. That's why it must be contained and controlled by people who aren't. Only then can magic be used for good. You saw what happened during that match. Sorcerers were helping out, using their magic. Not for their own benefits, but because I ordered them to."

Arthur wanted desperately to tell King Deslin that he was wrong, but he forced himself to stay silent. He took a sip of his wine so that he could delay the conversation. Fortunately, King Deslin continued speaking.

"That's why our castles are so similar." This made Arthur's head turn, "I'm sure you've noticed by now that my castle is quite similar to Camelot's in terms of architect. That's because I helped Uther storm the castle when he was younger, and I couldn't help take some of the ideas for myself."

Arthur nodded, "Your right, I did notice. I hadn't guessed the reason though. That's quite a surprise to learn."

The feast continued, Arthur genuinely becoming fascinated in what King Deslin had to say about his father. The hall emptied and the knights ran out of people to talk to, but Arthur could tell by their baffled faces that they hadn't managed to get any new leads. Either way, it was getting late. When all his questions were answered, he stood up to leave.

"It's best that I retire, I have a match tomorrow, after all." Arthur grinned. King Deslin stood up with him.

"It's been a pleasure talking to you, Prince Arthur! Good night to you and Merlin."

At the mention of his servant, Arthur's hair pricked up, "Thank you. Merlin, come."

With that, the two left the hall, unaware of what was to come.


	18. A moment full of happiness

Arthur and Merlin's footsteps echoed around the empty corridor, the faint chatter and laughter from the dying embers of the feast travelling along the hallway with them.

"You looked to be enjoying youself, Sire." Merlin brought up. Arthur had expected some teasing in his voice, but from what he could hear, Merlin sounded genuinly happy for him.

"He knew about my father." Arthur said, trying carefully to keep any emotion out of his face, "I wanted to learn more about him."

Merlin nodded, "I understand. I'm just glad you enjoyed the feast more than the previous ones."

Arthur looked at him suspiciously, though Merlin's eyes were to busy being glued to the floor to notice. Arthur sighed, "What's wrong?"

Merlin looked up, "What?"

"Trying to speak eloquently doesn't suit you, Merlin." Arthur frowned, "So, give me whatever enlightening lesson that you have stored in your pocket this time and we'll be on our way."

"I don't- I mean-" Arthur waitied patiently for Merlin to figure out what to say as they continued down the corridor, "I just want you to be happy, that's all."

"I am happy." Arthur stated.

"No you're not." It came out before Merlin could stop it. The two paused.

"I beg your pardon, Merlin?" Arthur kept the smile on his face, just in case he hadn't heard Merlin correctly. Merlin cast a glance at him, unsure of what to do.

"You feel guilty about talking to King Deslin about your father behind his back." Merlin explained, "Since's he's... not well, you felt guilty about learning more about his past, but even so you were interested in learning about... what he did."

Arthur was unsure how to react. He held himself carefully, staring at his servant in disbelief. This idiot. This absolute idiot and yet he wasn't able to hide anything from him, not the smallest little detail-

"Sire?" Merlin inquired, cautiously, "If I've said the wrong thing-"

"No." Arthur inturrupted, "I... I think you're right. I don't know how you figured it out when I couldn't, but you did."

"Well, the answer to that one's easy, Sire." Merlin started, resuming their walk.

"Oh really? What's that then?"

"It's because you're an idiot."

Arthur laughed, already knowing the answer before it came out of Merlin's mouth, "Not as much as you, I'm afraid."

Merlin nudged Arthur in response, and so Arthur shoved harder, communicating and laughing in a way that they had done for years, no matter what had changed between them. When the laughter died down though, Arthur found his smile falling.

"You're right though." Arthur confirmed quietly, "I felt guilty for talking to King Deslin about my father. But not only because of that."

Merlin looked up, "No?"

"No." Arthur shook his head, "I also felt guilty because of you."

Arthur watched as Merlin scrunched his face up in surprise, "Me?"

Arthur laughed despite himself, "You know, however wise you proclaim to be in these rare moments I think you'll forever remain an idiot when it comes to yourself."

"Alright?" Merlin gave a confused smile, not quite sure how else to respond.

Arthur gave another laugh before continuing, "I felt guilty about talking to King Deslin about my father in front of you."

Merlin nodded in understanding, "Because of what he did?"

Arthur coughed awkwardly, "Yeah..."

The two fell into silence as Merlin considered what to say next. Eventually, he spoke up, "Arthur, it doesn't matter that I don't like him. You deserve to know more about Uther then anyone else. You did the right thing in asking King Deslin those questions."

Arthur sighed, "It's just... you were right behind me while I was talking about memories I have of a man you-"

"Arthur." Merlin inturrupted, "Your father is a man filled with hate. He's made a lot of mistakes."

Arthur nodded forlornly, "I know."

"But, he also has a son." Merlin said with a shy smile, "And that's the only redeeming quality he has."

Arthur returned the smile and they fell into silence again, both silently agreeing to not bring the subject up again. When Arthur led Merlin around a corner, Merlin blinked.

"Hold on, where are we going?" Merlin asked as he jogged after him.

"To the phyicians chambers." Arthur answered, "Keep up, Merlin."

The two walked along the seperate corridor, marvelling at just how similar the structure of the castle was to Camelot's. Eventually, they reached the physicians chambers. Merlin went to go in, but Arthur held onto him, shot him a glare and knocked. A blush rose up in Merlin's cheeks slighlty as he realised what his mistake had been.

The door was opened by Adelaine, "Prince Arthur. Merlin." She nodded at them curtly, "Did you need something?"

"We came to check up on Elyan and Leon." Arthur answered, "Unless they're already asleep...?"

"Afraid not, Sire." Came Elyan's call from inside the room. With a grin, Arthur sidestepped Adelaine and walked in.

"Elyan. How are you doing?" Arthur greeted as Merlin joined him.

"Not to bad, Sire." Elyan grinned, "I haven't managed to annoy Leon to much."

"Please." Leon scoffed, grinning, "I'm just glad you're not Gwaine."

They laughed as Merlin went around making tea for themselves and Adelaine.

"It's a miracle he wasn't sent in here himself given how many things went wrong during his match." Elyan figured.

"He's probably hiding his injuries, waiting until they scar so he can tell tall tales about them." Leon suggested, smiling.

Arthur laughed, "Like how a bruise from when he tripped over a chair turned out to be a bite from a rare dealy insect-"

"Or when he stubbed his toe and said it had almost been chopped off by one of Merlin's faulty snares!"

The three beamed as Merlin gave them all tea, and was then thanked by Adelaine as he handed her one as well.

"So, we heard about the disaster that happened at the afternoon match." Leon sipped his tea, "A few people came in here with scratches and bruises, saying something about a crash. What happened?"

"The winds got picked up so much that some of the beams came crashing down, injuring a few people." Arthur said grimly, "But that's not all that happened.

Arthur then launched into the story of how the two contestants kept on fighting, even when it was clear what was happening, and how King Deslin had remained watching them instead of helping his people. While Arthur was explaining the story, Merlin looked up to see Adelaine paying attention.

"And then the winds also caused the beams to crash over King Deslin's head as well, so we had to take them all down." Arthur finished, careful not to mention Merlin's magic in front of Adelaine.

When Merlin saw Adelaine frown into her tea, he cocked his head toward her, "Do you know anything about what could have happened?"

Adelaine considered the earnest face before her and inhaled the warm scent the tea gave off, "I'm not one for battles myself, so I don't enjoy watching the sorcerers fight. But in the few occacions that I've seen, they begin to act... strangely."

Leon caught on, "You mean their eyes turn empty?"

Adelaine looked up, "I've seen that happen, yes. Their collars seen to glow as well."

"We've seen that to!" Elyan jumped in, "The stones in those collars are doing something to them."

"I can't help you there, I'm afraid." Adelaine sighed, "My knowledge extends only into the healing repertoire."

"Hold on..." Eyes turned to look at Merlin as a thought occured to him, "Do you know anything about magic that can control minds?"

Adelaine's eyes narrowed, "I'm perfectly sure I just told you-"

"Not controlling minds, as such, but..." Merlin looked around, trying to think of what he was trying to say, "Healing minds? Or magic that can improve someone mentally?"

Adelaine bit her lip, looking into her tea, "In the past, there were ways of healing minds by controlling the victim's thoughts. If the victim thought that they had done something wrong or that the death of someone was their doing, a skilled physician could cast a spell on them and control their thoughts to convince them otherwise. It was an incredibly controversial spell, but it bordered on the lines of mind control, I suppose."

"Could King Deslin be using that method to control his sorcerers?" Arthur asked, placing his empty tea cup to the side. 

Adelaine scrunched up her face and shook her head, "Oh no, it takes an incredibly skilled physician to do that, and even then it was a very long time ago, lost to the fires of the Great Purge, no doubt."

"But it is possible?" Merlin stared into the depths of his cold tea, finger tracing the edge of his cup, "Mind control can happen? Even if King Deslin himself isn't doing it?"

"If the sorcerers change so quickly before and after they fight, then yes. I suppose it is." Adelaine concluded. Merlin inhaled and looked at Arthur, their primary lead becoming more and more significant.

After they had bid Leon, Elyan and Adelaine goodnight, the two went back to their own chambers, walking in silence. The feast had long finished by now, so the two didn't dare tlk bout their findings as their was now the occasional servant milling about.

After Arthur had walked in and Merlin had shut the doors, Arthur sighed, rubbing his hands over his face, "Mind control." He plopped down onto his bed, "Mind control."

"That seems to be it." Merlin sighed.

"Do you know anything about it?" Arthur asked, tugging his boots off and lying on the bed as Merlin picked up after him.

"Only that it's a very dark form of magic." Merlin said, "Gaius wouldn't let me near it. Said it was to dangerous."

Arthur knitted his eyebrows, "Dark magic? So there is magic that corrupts?"

Arthur regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth. Merlin froze, the boots that Arthur had flicked off still in his hands.

"I... no. People choose to perfom dark magic because of their own hatred. Of their own lust for power. It has nothing to do with the magic itself."

The harshness in Merlin's voice made Arthur grimance, "Merlin, I said the wrong thing-"

"No, no, you didn't know aby better." Merlin said, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself, "Dark magic isn't magic that corrupts the mind, it's the act of using magic as a tool for evil deeds."

Arthur nodded, "Like Morgana's."

Merlin sighed. Arthur didn't miss the sadness in his eyes, "Morgana's fear of being caught and hatred of Uther disowning her led to her being swept up in her own ambition. So, yes, like Morgana's."

An awkward silence filled the air at Arthur's slip-up. Merlin cleaned up, bustling around and keeping himself busy, even if there wasn't that much to do. Eventually, he allowed himself to slow down, "I wish I could have helped her."

Arthur didn't look at him. Only stared at the ceiling, "So do I."

The silence that followed was empty. The two mulled around in their thoughts. They were both thinking about all the mistakes they had made in the past, all leading up the tragedy of Morgana's betrayal.

"So," Arthur croaked, eager to change the subject, "Mind control."

"Mind control." Merlin shot him a grateful look, though Arthur didn't catch it as he was staring at the ceiling.

"Do you think the soldiers know that they could be getting controlled in such a way?" Arthur asked, resting his head underneath his hands. He could hear Merlin hum in thought.

"Actually, I think they do." Arthur winced as he heard a hefty load being dumped into a hamper. He'd have to shout at Merlin for that later, "Remember how mad Byrne seemed at King Deslin once you had won the match. She wouldn't have control over when King Deslin takes over, and that must have made her mad."

"Which is why King Deslin put a sedative on her food, to calm her down so that she didn't do anything reckless!" Arthur finished triumphantly. Then his smile fell as he thought about it more, "He just... steals their will like that? That's... awful."

Merlin was now sat at that table, staring at the wall in front of him, "Now all we need to do is figure out how. King Deslin is nowhere near strong enough take control of a mind whenever he felt like it."

Arthur nodded slowly, still lost in thought, "I think we'd better get to bed."

Merlin stood to help Arthur get his chainmail off, "You're right. You've got a match tomorrow, after all."

Arthur smirked as Merlin unfastened a shoulder pad, "I wonder what Percival has in store."

"Don't try to think to hard about it, wouldn't want you to hurt yourself before your match." Merlin grinned at him before dumping his armour on top of the hamper.

When Arthur was undressed and ready for bed, he watched as Merlin bid him goodnight and wondered back into the servant's quarters to get himself prepared. He spent the majority of the night wondering not about the match he had tomorrow, but about the question of mind control. How someone could even possibly consider taking away the intentions of another, to manipulate their honour and loyalty and dignity was a mystery to him. Then, as his eyes began to close, he thought about Morgana, and if she would jump at having Emrys at her side as eagerly as King Deslin had.

The morning came all to quickly in Merlin's honest opinion. After his eyes opened to the darkness of his room, he groaned and pressed his face into the cot, getting a mouthful of pillow in the process. After a while of giving himself a little pep talk of why he needed to be awake, such as to help stop the potential threat of a mind-controlled army of powerful sorcerers, Merlin eventually persuaded himself to move. Merlin managed the task for a two entire seconds before he flopped back down onto the cot. Why did he have to deal with a foreboding magical army this early in the morning anyway? Arthur could handle himself for a change.

There was a loud clang, followed by, "Merlin!"

Then again, maybe not.

Rubbing his eyes and practically pushing himself out of bed, Merlin stumbled into the prince's chambers, "What?"

Arthur was looking at him with a thundorous expression on his face, his armour scattered on the floor, "And what do you call this?" He made exagerrated hand gestures towards the scattered pieces of metal on the floor.

Merlin had to stare at them for a full five seconds before he understood, "Armour?"

"No, you idiot! It's a mess! Clean it up!" Arthur scowled. Then, seeing Merlin's face, paused, "Have you only just woken up?"

Merlin leaned his head back against the wall and yawned, "No...?"

"Stupid idiot manservant." Arthur muttered to himself. Merlin's eyes snapped awake when Arthur grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the armour that Arthur had managed to trip over, "Mess! Clean! Now!"

"Yes, sire." Merlin droned, picking it all up at dumping it on top on the hamper. Arthur glared at him, let it go and sat down, rubbing his temples together. Now fully awake, Merlin glanced around the room, and then, outside the window.

"Arthur, it's not even light outside. Neither of us have to be up yet. Is something bothering you?"

Arthur sighed, "It's just what you said yesterday about Morgana. A thought occured to me and I couldn't sleep." He answered. Merlin looked at him cautiously, before joining him at the table.

"What is it?" He asked. 

Arthur contemplated his question silently as tears shone in his eyes, "Could you have ended up like Morgana?"

Merlin took a sharp intake of breath, taken by surprise. He mulled the question over, not entirely sure what to say.

"Honestly, Merlin." Arthur reminded him. 

Merlin spent a bit more time thinking over the answer before speaking, "Yes."

Arthur swallowed and returned to rubbing his temples.

I think that if I didn't have Gaius, who taught me to use my magic for good, or you, who accepted me for who I was, then I eventually would have become so afraid of my powers that I would start blaming them on other people, and then... you know."

Arthur nodded, biting his lip, "That's a truly scary thought to think about, Merlin."

"Hey." Merlin gave a fond smile, reaching out over the table to grab Arthur's arm, "No need to hurt yourself. I'm right here."

Arthur smiled, "Good."

"Good."

They were taken out of their thoughts by a polite knock at the door. Merlin went to go and get it, returning with their usual breakfasts. They ate in silence, Merlin becoming worried about Arthur's safety, Arthur getting lost in thoughts of what could have been.

"Arthur." Merlin sighed, shaking Arthur's hand a little, "You're ignoring what I just said."

Arthur looked at him grimly, "I am. Sorry."

"There's no need to hurt yourself over what could have been. I'm never going to leave your side, Arthur." Merlin gripped Arthur's arm tightly, hoping to emphasize the reassurance. It seemed to do the trick, as the both returned to their breakfasts. Since they weren't bickering through it, their meal was quickly finished, and it was onto Arthur getting dressed. After Merlin had gotten himself dressed, of course.

When the two were nearly ready to leave for the tent, Merlin spoke again, "Arthur, if there's anything I've learnt after years of hiding who I was, it's that you can't mull over what might not and what might've been because it only makes you miserable. You have to remember that a smile is only temporary, Arthur. If you're happy, then make the most out of it. Don't waste time worrying about what could have happened, or what might have been. If you're happy, then you have to seize it, because it could be gone the second you blink." 

Arthur stared at him sadly, knowing all to well where Merlin was coming from.

Merlin swallowed before continuing, "When I was hiding, I spent at least an hour each day worrying about the mistakes I had made and what could've been different if I had just changed one simple decision. I spent sleepless nights worrying about how I was going to tell you and imagining how you'd react when you found out. When I first came to Camelot, I spent so many moments worrying that the only time that I had a smile on my face was when I was with you."

Arthur smiled, memories of Merlin playing in his head as he carried on.

"I didn't know when someone would next attack Camelot. I didn't know who was going to try and kill you next. The more I grew to like you the more terrified I got of dying alone and scared in the middle of nowhere while you thought I was off parading around in the tavern. I was scared that I'd die and you'd just get a new servant and think of me as some drunken idiot, and then forget about me altogether while I rotted in a ditch somewhere. As time went on, I became more desperate to tell you, but the words died on my lips because I kept wondering how you'd react. But when I was with you, when I was joking, laughing and smiling with you, I forgot about Nimueh. About Morguase. About Morgana, and I focused entirely on you. Because you're what makes me happy, Arthur. Every moment I have with you is precious to me. So here."

On an impulse, Merlin took off his red neckerchief. Arthur watch in amazement as Merlin bunched the neckerchief up, wrapped it and knotted it securely around Arthur's right arm.

"A token for good luck, is it?" Arthur tried to joke, but couldn't stop his voice from shaking.

"Shut up." Merlin gave a breathy laugh, trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes only to fail miserably, "Just... wear it, okay?" It'll make me feel better."

"I will." Arthur said with nothing but sincerity, "After all these betrayals, after countless lies and schemes, I thought I'd never find a genuine friend, let alone someone who I could love with all I had. Then when you came along, Merlin, you introduced me to Lancelot, Gwaine joined because of you, and you became fast friends with my Inner Circle like it was nothing. So, when you revealed your magic, Merlin, I had never felt more crushed or betrayed, because I wanted so desperately for you to be by my side for the rest of my life. I didn't want to have to call you evil, or banish you from Camelot. So when you showed me just how beautiful and good magic could be, everything I had ever felt for you came rushing back so quickly that I didn't know what to do. Now, after everything we've been through, now that we don't have any more secrets to hide, I finally do."

And then Arthur kissed him.

It was short and sweet, but effective. The two men stood there, not entirely sure what to do with the rest of their bodies. So, they did what they felt was natural: Arthur's arms around Merlin's waist and Merlin's arms up against Arthur's chest, just like it had always been. Since the tongues were an entirely new matter to both of them, neither bothered doing much. They just stood and basked in the warmth of the man they loved the most.

When they finally parted, Merlin looked up at Arthur and laughed.

"Hey, come on now, that's enough." He grinned as he wiped away Arthur's tears, "You've got a match to get to, remember?"

"Right." Arthur choked back a sob, which only made Merlin chuckle more, even if he himself was desperately trying to hold back tears. 

"Merlin?" Arthur said when he was halfway to the door.

"Hm?"

"Are you joining me?"

Merlin blinked a few times, then realised what he meant, "O-oh! Right! I-I just need a few minutes, that's all."

Arthur gave him a fond smile, "I understand. I'll meet you down there."

Merlin nodded, not trusting himself to speak. As soon as Arthur left, Merlin let the tears fall.

No matter what he tried to do, he couldn't stop smiling. He did it! After years and years of worrying about Arthur banishing him, he now finally had Arthur's full acceptance and love. He grinned like an idiot when he realised that he could still feel the warmth from Arthur's lips. In that moment, as Merlin hummed happily to himself as he cleaned up, everything was perfect. Arthur was going to win the tournament and the knights would be happy and then they'd go back to Camelot and Gaius would be happy and then magic would be legalised and he would become Court Sorcerer and then years later Arthur would proclaim their undying love and then they'd get married and rule over a kingdom as equals and-

As Merlin stepped out of the door, his smile fell as he bumped into the chest of a looming figure.

"Hello, Merlin." King Deslin smiled coldly.


	19. A cell full of horrors

In a quick bout of panic, Merlin took a few steps backward, but his attempt failed when King Deslin grabbed his arm. 

"Now, now, don't be like that." King Deslin sneered in a voice that made Merlin struggle even more, "I'm a very likeable man when people co-operate."

"Where's Arthur?" Merlin blurted out. After all that had just happened, the name was the first thing on his lips. King Deslin smirked, "In the tent, none the wiser. Don't worry, though. That'll change soon enough."

Merlin continued struggling. He could already feel the skin that was being held by King Deslin bruising. Merlin winced, looking at the harsh eyes that were brimming with greed.

King Deslin tugged him closer, lowering his voice, "Now, Prince Arthur tells me that you have a talent for disobeying every single one of his orders, so I'm going to make this nice and simple for you." He sneered, "You are to follow me to the throne room without complaint. There we will wait for my servants to tell Arthur and the knights that they're expected. If you try anything clever I will have every single sorcerer present at that tournament hell-bent on killing your precious Arthur before he even knows what's going on. Are we clear?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Merlin gave a small nod. As soon as he did so, King Deslin gave a sharp tug off his arm and practically dragged Merlin down the hall. Whenever he made eye contact with a passing Rivkah servant, they just lowered their eyes and hurried on their way. No surprise or anything. In a chilling feeling of horror, it dawned on Merlin that this had been planned. King Deslin had known about him for a while.

"Why are you doing this?" Merlin tried asking, jogging to keep up with him, "What do you want? What do the collars do?"

Merlin fired one question after another at him, but the only good it seemed to do was form a deep scowl on King Deslin's face. They carried on, twisting and turning down the halls until they came to the throne room.

If Merlin had suspicions about this being planned before, they were banished from his mind the minute they walked into the throne room. Guards, servants and court members had their eyes on him the minute the doors thundered open.

King Deslin threw him to the floor, marching over to the guard and accepting the handcuffs that were given to him. Merlin scrambled back up, unable to help a short gasp of fear when he noticed the handcuffs.

His magic tingled warily when he noticed the symbols of the Old Religion carved onto the bottom. The ones that compressed magic.

At the sound of his gasp, a smirk spread across King Deslin's face.

"Sounds like you already know what these are." He said, dangling the chains tauntingly in Merlin's face, "I'll remind you that any attempts of a struggle will result in Arthur getting hurt. Understood?"

As much as Merlin wanted to back away and run from those things, he nodded and complied. He winced when King Deslin approached and couldn't help a grunt of pain when the handcuffs clipped on. Immediately, he could feel all colour draining from his skin.

Merlin's magic was different from everybody else's, and didn't just circulate inside the sorcerer like blood. Merlin's magic was to vast in quantity for that, and so Merlin let it leak out into the earth, spread it's life into wilting flowers and sick animals before rushing back into Merlin again. Now, with these cuffs on, the magic was forced to stay inside, squashed and built up in a body to small to hold it. Merlin could feel the magic rush around, looking for any exit within the body. Merlin's breathing quickened as it did so, the desperation he could feel in his magic causing a nauseous feeling to grow in his stomach.

King Deslin looked at the panting form of the sorcerer before him, his eyes flickering gold feebly as the magic raced around inside him.

"I've just sent a servant to send for Prince Arthur and his knights." He addressed the crowd, though never took his eyes of Merlin, "All we need to do now is wait."

Meanwhile, several minutes earlier, Arthur had wondered down to the Camelot tent by himself, a wide grin on his face, no matter how much he tried to hide it. When he ducked down into the tent, Gwaine was on him like a hawk.

"Princess! What seems to be the good news?" Gwaine regarded Arthur's smile and, as Arthur playfully shoved him away, Gwaine caught sight of the neckerchief tied around Arthur's arm.

"Oh." Gwaine smirked, "Oh, it's about time."

"What?" Lancelot looked at him. Gwaine nodded to the neckerchief and Lancelot's eyes widened.

"Good lord." the traces of a smile began on his lips, "It finally happened."

As the knights crowded around to get a better luck at the neckerchief, Arthur looked at them all in exasperation, "He gave me his neckerchief as a token of good luck, it's hardly news to fuss over-"

"This neckerchief is a smelly, dusty old rag." Gwaine said, "You are not smiling because you're wearing this thing."

Arthur looked at him suspiciously. Gwaine never used these kind of skills on hunting trips, "Your clothes are slightly ruffled and you haven't bothered to straighten them, which means you're distracted and daydreaming, which almost never happens, and you've got the same stupid smile on your face that only ever happens when you look at Merlin." Arthur stared in amazement as Gwaine examined him head to toe.

"So, gentlemen." Gwaine announced for all to hear, "It is my pleasure to confirm that our two favourite people in the world are now snogging."

A cheer went up, the knights applauding and clapping Arthur on the back. Arthur laughed, still not over the joy he felt.

"Alright, fine, you're right!" Arthur couldn't stop grinning, "But you're treating it as if we just got married."

"That's what friends do, I'm afraid!" Gwaine cheered, and then, a bit more quietly, "So, when is the wedding?"

Arthur just shoved him as the knights snickered. 

Gwaine laughed merrily, "So? Where is the bride to be? He can't miss princess charming gallivanting around the arena!"

"I told him to meet me here." Arthur explained, calming down a little, "He said he needed a minute."

"You've both been pining for a while now, it's understandable." Gwaine shrugged. Meanwhile, Percival had finished getting into his armour and peered outside, his nerves of the crowd peeking up again.

"That's strange." He couldn't help but mutter.

From inside the tent, Lancelot turned towards him, "What's wrong?" He called.

There was a moments silent as Percival scanned the crowd, "Hardly anyone seems to be here."

"What do you mean?" Lancelot joined him, scanning the crowd.

"What are you two doing? Shouldn't we be celebrating?" Gwaine called out to them. At the sound of his voice, Percival and Lancelot came back into the tent, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked, noticing the worried glances they exchanged to each other.

"No one seems to be out there." Lancelot said, "There are people from the citadel, the announcer is here and several guards and servants from Rivkah, but King Deslin and some members of the court haven't arrived yet."

"That is strange." Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. He knew, courtesy of his father's lectures, that a king needed to be early to a tournament match to show that he's eager to watch the entertainment. Then, in a horrifying second, he put two and two together, "Any sign of Merlin?"

Lancelot took another peek, then shook his head, "No, Sire."

Arthur inhaled, his fists clenching with worry, "He should have been back by now."

The knights exchanged glances, seemingly on the same train of thought as Arthur.

"Unless..." Percival couldn't finished the thought.

Gwaine's eyes widened, "Oh no."

Without a second thought, Arthur rushed out of the tent, only to stop himself from crashing into a servant seconds later.

"Watch were you're going!" Arthur yelled, anger and worry and fear briefly making him forget about being courteous.

"Prince Arthur?" The servant called to him, "King Deslin has sent for you."

At that, the prince whipped around and marched back to the servant. The knights joined him, "Really? Where?"

"The throne room." The servant trembled under Arthur's gaze, which hardened the second the words left his mouth. Without another word, he stormed off, knights flocking behind him.

As soon as the doors of the throne room burst open, Merlin would have made his way over to Arthur if it hadn't been for the guard that was restraining him. King Deslin sat on his throne, looking for all the world bored out of his mind. As soon as the doors opened though, a calculating grin spread across his face.

Arthur stormed in, and as soon as he saw Merlin in cuffs, his expression turned thunderous, "King Deslin?" He fought to keep his tone steady, "What's the meaning of this?"

"I'm sure you already know the answer to that, Arthur." King Deslin spat as he rose from his throne, "You really thought you could keep a secret as big as this hidden from me?"

Arthur focused on his breathing, trying to control his temper and fear as best as he could. On the sidelines, Lancelot cast a glance to Merlin, tilting his head in a silent question of if he was okay. Merlin nodded and flashed him a brief smile, trying desperately to ignore the nausea swimming around in his head.

After a few inhales, Arthur asked, "Why is my servant in cuffs?"

"Arthur, I'd rather you didn't play the fool." King Deslin snapped, "We both know why and who he is."

Arthur stiffened. He swallowed, not wanting to look at Merlin since there was a good chance he would loose his temper all over again. Instead, he forced himself to calm down for Merlin's sake, "How long have you known?"

"Since the preliminaries." Now that Arthur was co-operating, King Deslin's frown became a smirk, "I saw your reaction during the feast at your arrival, and became suspicious that you were hiding something then. When I watched him during the preliminaries, I saw him use magic to escape Byrne's trap. At that point, I didn't know how strong he was, so I lured him into a trap using the monster under the castle. To my surprise, I found that he was quite strong."

Arthur stared into King Deslin's eyes, refusing to show any emotion and trembling with the effort, "It's true, my servant is a sorcerer. I apologise for not telling you-"

"Oh no, I'm not done yet." King Deslin snarled, "True, I was about to kick you out of the tournament for keeping a secret from me, but then one of my guards found this."

With a snap of his fingers, King Deslin summoned a guard over, a creature in his arms. King Deslin grabbed the creature by the scruff of it's neck and threw it onto the ground.

"Aithusa!" Merlin cried. With a nod from King Deslin, the guard let Merlin go and the young warlock rushed to the dragon's side, scooping the baby up into his arms, which was hard considering his limited movement. When Merlin straightened, Arthur couldn't help placing a hand on his back. Merlin flashed him a smile and nodded, telling him that he was okay.

"We managed to find a dragon sheltering from the winds in the stables, reduced to a mere carrier pigeon." King Deslin finished, snarling at the creature in disgust. Merlin watched in horror as King Deslin pulled Gaius' letter out from under his cloak and tore it to pieces in front of them, "And I know only one sorcerer powerful enough to command dragons."

Arthur felt his insides turn cold as Merlin gasped, eyes widening in fear as he gathered the pieces o the letter that King Deslin had thrown at him. King Deslin turned to Arthur, his face stern.

"Prince Arthur, I am disappointed to say that our peace alliance is off due to the fact that you've been keeping an extremely powerful sorcerer in our midst. However, I will be willing to restore it on one condition."

Arthur tensed, already knowing but refusing to accept it.

"Give Emrys to me."

Arthur's answer was immediate, "No."

King Deslin's scowl deepened, but Arthur was ready, already trying to figure out the worst he could do and how they could get out of it.

"Very well." King Deslin finally said, "You and your knights are under arrest. You'll be placed in the dungeons and will continue to participate in the tournament from there. Emrys will be joining you until I figure out what to do with him. Aiken! Guards! Restrain them."

Suddenly, Aiken's eyes flashed gold and a strong wind was sent down onto the five knights, so heavy that they were unable to move. This allowed the guards to move in and cuff the knights without them being able to draw their swords to defend themselves. Seeing that the attention was no longer on him, Merlin turned to Aithusa.

"Aithusa! Now!" He hissed.

The dragon nodded in understanding and leapt at King Deslin, hissing and snapping as her winds outstretched, shielding Merlin's hunched figure from his view.

"Wretched creature!" King Deslin shouted as Aithusa clawed at his face, refusing to let go. It took the combined effort of two guards and King Deslin himself to wrestle the writhing dragon of his face. She snapped at him, waving her claws around.

"Pull that trick again Emrys and I'll kill your little pet!" King Deslin snarled. Merlin put on a fake mask of despair, nodding desperately. Reluctantly, the guard put Aithusa down and, since their plan had now been accomplished, she slinked back to her master, chest puffed out in pride.

"Good job, Aithusa." Merlin whispered, patting the dragon's head. Now, the letter safely tucked into his jacket's pocket, he cradled Aithusa in his arms and allowed himself to be taken away by the guards.

They walked to the dungeons in silence. Arthur was constantly looking at Merlin, and each time Merlin smiled at him, assuring him that he was okay. They were all led into one big cell, where individual handcuffs hung from the walls. The knights, since their swords had been taken off them while they were trapped by Aiken's spell, offered little to no resistance. They struggled around a little bit, but with an army of sorcerers against them, they knew it was no use. They were all manhandled to their own respective spot and then into lifting their arms up and into the cuffs. When they were all secured, Merlin and Aithusa was shoved in the cell with them, his own magic-binding cuffs causing him to fall to the floor. Aithusa leapt out of his arms as he tumbled to the ground, then nudged his arm to make sure he was okay.

"Don't get too comfy in here." The guard told the young warlock, "You'll be moving out soon."

Merlin could only stare at him angrily, his magic boiling inside of him. Aithusa snarled, but a stern glance from Merlin silenced her.

"And you two." The guard continued, looking at Percival and Arthur, "You're match has been postponed. We'll be here to collect you in a few minutes."

With that the guards sauntered off, chuckling to themselves. For a while, the knights wallowed in their own pitiful silence as they listened to the footsteps echo away.

"Well." Gwaine sighed, slouching against the stone walls and tugging against his chains, "Isn't this just dandy."

"I expect they'll throw Leon and Elyan down here as well once their wounds have healed." Lancelot eyed the two other handcuffs that were still empty, "It's strange how there's an exact number of handcuffs for all of us. They were planning this, I'm sure off it."

Arthur sighed, shaking his head, "Whether they planned this or not, it doesn't matter now. What does matter is how we're going to get out." Then he turned to Merlin, "Merlin? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, I'm fine." Merlin grunted, struggling to get into a sitting position after being tossed so violently onto the floor, "Actually. I think we have a place where we can start."

"Serious?" Percival asked, "If so, you'd better spit it out quick, they're going to come back at any minute."

Merlin nodded and then nodded to Aithusa. Aithusa seemed to understand whatever Merlin was ordering her to do and placed her head into Merlin's pocket. When she withdrew her head, the letter, fully intact, was in her mouth.

Arthur gasped, "Gaius' letter! But how? King Deslin tore it to pieces!"

Merlin smiled smugly at his enraptured audience, "True, King Deslin did tear it up. But, since sorcery is outlawed in Camelot, King Deslin probably didn't suspect Gaius of being a sorcerer. I knew that with our luck, King Deslin would get suspicious of us sooner or later, so in my letter I asked Gaius if he could enchant his letter to automatically repair itself if it was ever ripped, since I knew there was a good chance we could get discovered. While the letter was mending, I ordered Aithusa to attack King Deslin so that I could sneak the repairing letter into my pocket without him noticing."

"Brilliant!" Arthur gushed, shaking his head in amazement at his servant, "I don't think you'll ever stop surprising me, Merlin."

Merlin grinned and winked at him, giving Lancelot the letter, "Here, Lancelot. You should keep it."

Lancelot raised an eyebrow, "Why me?"

"Because Arthur and Percival are going to be taken out of the cell to fight soon, so they can't be the ones to hide it, and I'm going to be relocated, so I can't keep it either."

Gwaine stared at him, "And...?"

"I'm not trusting anything with you, Gwaine."

Gwaine nodded, "Understandable."

Merlin then looked at Lancelot, nodding, "So? What does it say?"

Merlin had balanced the letter in Lancelot's lap so that Lancelot could get a good luck, even without the use of hands. There was a moment of tense silence as he read, biting his lip.

"He says that the stone is called a Vixen's heart. In the days of the Old Religion, there were often children so powerful that they could barely control their own magic, so they were given this stone and the child then channelled their magic through that. It controlled just how much power went through."

"So King Deslin forces them to wear that stone so that they can't use powerful magic against him." Percival repeated, making sure he understood, "But how does King Deslin control the magic? It said the stone only channels it."

Lancelot returned to the letter and kept reading, "It says that the stone can be meant to give control of someone else's magic to someone else if it is dipped in a liquid, such as blood or venom."

"Blood or venom?" Merlin muttered, "He has to be splashing that on it. He's not powerful enough to mind-control all of his sorcerers to give him all of their power all at the same time."

After several minutes of mulling in silence again, Arthur looked up, "Hold on, didn't Adelaine say something about the snake having venom?"

Merlin looked at him, "You think that's why he's keeping the monster around? To have an endless supply of snake venom he can dip the stones into?"

"That has to be it! Why else would he keep the snake around?"

"Unless..." Merlin bit his lip, then his head shot up in epiphany, "That's it! That's where I've seen the snake before!"

The knights looked at him, "What?"

"It's a Fomorrah!" Merlin called triumphantly, "That's how he's controlling their minds, there's a little snake inside them..."

"Hold on, hold on." Arthur slowed Merlin down, "You've fought a beast like that before and it never occurred to you to tell us?"

"No! I mean..." Merlin forced himself to calm down, "The Fomorrah that I encountered was a lot smaller, a baby possibly. This one's a lot bigger. I just didn't realise they were the same monster until now!"

Arthur opened his mouth slowly, trying to piece together the new information and come up with a response that didn't make him look like a total idiot. He succeed in neither, as it was at that moment that a guard appeared.

"Come on you two, up you get." The guard snarled at Percival and Arthur, "You've got a match to fight.


	20. An action full of speed

Arthur and Percival allowed themselves to be dragged along the hallways, knowing that Merlin's safety could be at risk if they disobeyed. They were led by two guards, one assigned for each of them, and there were cuffs on their hands, a separate pair being placed on them when they had been released from the ones on the wall.

Percival and Arthur spent most of the walk in their own thoughts, thinking over everything they had just learned. Percival understood very little of it, but if Merlin was happy, that meant they must have been getting close, because there was very little other to be happy about. He shifted a glance to Arthur, but his eyes were glued to the floor, his forehead wrinkled in concentration and his mouth set in a deep frown. It seemed neither of them were concerned with their match anymore. Percival couldn't help feel a little disappointed, but he knew there'd be plenty of time to challenge Arthur to a rematch back in Camelot.

They'd just have to get their first.

A spark of a plan igniting in his brain as a question came to mind, Percival snuck a glance at the guard who was behind him.

"Hey." Percival spoke up, "Are we going to be fighting with these cuffs on?"

There was no answer. In his peripherals, Percival could see Arthur shooting him a questioning look, but Percival kept his gaze steady. After a short silence, Percival tried again.

"Are we going to get collars like yours? They look uncomfortable."

Again, no answer. Percival couldn't help smile when he saw Arthur react a little to the realisation of what he was doing. Encouraged, Percival tried again.

"Do you feel anything when you're being controlled or do you only know straight after?"

Percival could feel the guard's breath hitch a little bit, and his smile widened a little in triumph. The smile grew even wider when Arthur joined in.

"Did you know about the snake monster underneath the castle?"

Percival was tempted to look back and see the guards' reactions, but he knew he'd be shouted at if he did. Still, he and Arthur were on the right track. Only King Deslin and Adelaine knew about the monster under the castle, though that changed when King Deslin announced in front of the court that he had used the monster to lure Merlin into a trap. It seemed that now that he had power, King Deslin didn't really care about who knew about it. Percival looked at Arthur when the prince spoke up again.

"Don't you want to try and kill it? There are a lot of powerful sorcerers on your side, after all."

Percival bit his lip when he didn't hear a reaction. The guards must have known what they were doing and forced a stoic face. It seemed that their little game hadn't worked after all. 

He returned his gaze to the wall ahead of him, his fists clenched and his face set in determination. Whatever was going to happen next, he was ready for a fight. Win or loose.

When they arrived at the tent, Arthur turned to them, "Where are our swords? You took them off us."

The guards nodded with a small grunt to the tent. Arthur and Percival looked at each other and went inside. Sure enough, all their swords were there, lined up. They were about to step forward to retrieve them when they heard a faint rustle in behind them. They turned to find that a guard had stepped in the tent with them.

"You have five minutes to prepare." Was all the guard said, "We will remove your cuffs a minute before the match starts."

Arthur and Percival looked at each other and shrugged. Outside, talk of the crowd surrounded and enveloped the tent.

"Why are the crowd so excited?" Percival asked as the question occurred to him, "They just saw us get led into this tent in cuffs."

"We've fed them the story that Camelot tried to poison King Deslin at the feast, and that you're all being locked up until further notice." Arthur and Percival turned to the guard as he explained, "They don't care that you tried to kill their king. They don't care that you committed a crime. All they want is a fight."

Arthur and Percival scowled. Arthur listened again to the cheers of the crowd as they stamped their feet, eager for a fight. What if the tables were reversed? What if someone had tried to poison him and the criminal would still be allowed to fight in the tournament? Would they care? Arthur sighed and banished the thoughts from his head. Merlin had drilled it into his head thousands of times that his people cared for him and that every single one would lay down their life for him. While he wasn't entirely sure if that was the truth or the words of his ridiculously loyal manservant, Arthur didn't have time to focus on it now. He had a match to win.

"Hey." Arthur spoke to Percival, "Don't forget what I told you after your match with Aiken."

You said you were looking forward to our fight." Percival repeated immediately.

"And I meant it." Arthur smiled, "Though on one condition."

Percival cocked his head, frowning, "What is it?"

"Don't go making it easy." Arthur stared at him, his eyes brimming with determination.

"Funny." Percival smirked, "I was going to say the same thing to you."

Arthur returned the grin and the two turned to the guard as he stepped forward with keys. Their glances then turned to the tent entrance as it opened, and Aiken stepped in. Percival tensed, knowing immediately why he was there.

"We're going to take your cuffs of now." The guard said, waving the keys at them, "Any funny business and Aiken here will stop you."

Percival knew all to well from his match and from the throne room that being crushed by Aiken's winds was not an experience he would want to partake in again. Even if they did manage to get past Aiken, there would be a whole group of Rivkah sorcerers present at the tournament that they would have to get through. Since they didn't have that much of a plan in terms of escape, Percival knew they wouldn't get very far. Instead, he begrudgingly held out his hands and let the guard take the cuffs off. He rubbed them slightly, then went to go and get his sword while the guard did the same to Arthur.

A few seconds after both of them had retrieved their swords, a horn sounded. Arthur and Percival looked at each other. This was it.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer called to the crowd, "Welcome to the first day of the second round!"

The crown applauded and the announcer continued explaining, "The second round will take place over the entirety of two days and hold four matches, two of those being today! And now, for the first match, the knight of Camelot who has no rival when it comes to strength, Sir Percival!"

Percival cast one last glance back at Arthur before he stepped out of the tent and was greeted by roaring applause. His nerves sneaking in again, Percival gave a few waves to people of the crowd before taking the spot on the furthest side of the ring, eyes of the Camelot tent as the announcer spoke again.

"And now, for the prince of Camelot, for the one who's noble tales have spread far across the land, Prince Arthur!"

Percival couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face as Arthur sauntered out, acknowledging the crowd much better than Percival had. He took his time, holding his sword up and waving to each and every stand of the crowd. When it came to handling a crowd, Arthur won for sure. Percival drew his sword and clutched his shield, preparing himself for a fight.

No sorcerers. No collars. No mind control. Just two knights, fighting to see who was the strongest. Percival was beginning to feel a little excited.

When Arthur had finally finished addressing the crowd, he stood facing Percival, mirroring his stance exactly, though Percival supposed it made sense, giving that everything that he had learnt over the years had been taught by Arthur. His grin grew wider. This was going to be fun.

"Begin!"

Neither moved. Arthur knew that both of them had taken Leon's advice to heart, and both had a vague idea of the other's strength due to years of training together. Arthur started circling and Percival joined him, Arthur moved in closer, clanging his sword against Percival's, daring him to make the first move.

The swords pushed against each other, then slid away harmlessly. Percival was the strongest out of the two of them. They knew that.

So that's why Percival made the first move.

He swung with all he could against Arthur's sword, but Arthur was ready. The two gave one swing after another, grunting and yelling with the effort. Arthur noticed that Percival wasn't using all of his strength, and silently congratulated him on pacing himself, and not using it all at once. Arthur smashed against his sword again in the strongest swing yet. Percival caught it and the swords swung of each other harmlessly, though Percival had gotten the message. Arthur wanted more of a challenge.

Percival put even more strength into his swings, and was proud of himself when Arthur's grin told him he had done the right thing. The swords bounced off each other as parries rained down, the occasional thrust causing them to push their shields forward. The two were evenly matched, chasing each other around the ring as feet danced and swords clashed.

"Look at that!" Arthur panted, jerking his head towards the crowd, "You're making me look bad!"

Sure enough, their names were getting lost in the roars of the crowd as they cheered. It seems as many people wanted Percival to win as they did Arthur.

Percival laughed at the joke, "You're going to have to try harder to prove them wrong!"

Arthur grinned, "It would be my pleasure!"

With a yell, he twirled the sword around in his hand and used the momentum to bring it swinging down into Percival's shield. Percival brought his shield to block it, but the contact caused his arm to tense and wobble, his muscles aching slightly.

Percival shoved the sword off and tried his own swing, Arthur deflecting it with his sword! The two exchanged blows for a little while longer before Arthur's eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

"Come on!" He shouted over the roaring crowd, "Don't hold back! That's an order, Percival!"

The match had been going on long enough now for Percival to almost be at full strength. It was Arthur's order that finally convinced him to stop pacing himself and go all in.

The strikes became faster and the two were forced to use their shields more often. Scratches painted the surface as Percival began his onslaught, swiping this way and that on the tiny dragon that painted Arthur's shield. Arthur grunted through gritted teeth, his arm burning as Percival's strength charged through the blow full force. He gripped onto the handle of his shield, his hand shaking with the effort.

"Is that all you've got?" Arthur panted, "More!"

Percival's sword rained down upon his shield again and again, With everything that had happened in the past day, Percival had more than enough frustration to take out on Arthur's shield. Arthur responded whenever he saw an opening, fighting back with all he had. Unfortunately, when it came to strength, it just wasn't enough to beat Percival.

Which was why Arthur was trying another tactic.

"You've got more than that, surely!" Arthur taunted, "Come on!"

Twirling the sword in his hand to build up momentum, Percival swung the sword as hard as he could into Arthur's shield. There was a loud clang that reverberated around the arena as the sword dug into the shield and became buried several inches into it. Amazed, Percival tugged, but the sword wouldn't budge.

Arthur laughed, his plan having worked. He raised an eyebrow at Percival, "Shall we?"

With a shrug, Percival and Arthur tossed the sword and the shield to the side. Stepping back a bit to recover, Arthur placed both hand on his sword and Percival hunched over, shield at the ready.

When he had gained his breath back, Arthur began his attack. Percival, left with nothing else to do, had no choice but to hold his shield out in front of him, a shield and sword between them.

Whilst Arthur struck the shield with all he had, he watched Percival carefully. There didn't seem to be any signs of exhaustion, which did't help Arthur at all. Strength wasn't going to get him anywhere.

The sword bounced of the shield once more and the two were back to circling each other. The inkling of a plan in his brain, Arthur gave the facade of exhaustion, panting and wiping his forehead, even though there was no sweat there. Percival watched his every move, his eyes narrowing slightly, a plan forming behind them. Arthur prayed that it was the wrong one.

Sure enough Percival fell for the ruse and dashed forward, slamming the shield into Arthur's chest. Grinning, Arthur had anticipated this and had some control over where he 'dropped' the sword.

When the two came into contact, Arthur swung his arm so that the sword would carry the momentum and land behind him instead of at Percival's side. Then, he managed to shove Percival off him as the two became distracted on spotting where the sword had landed. Both eyes seemed to spot it at the same time.

They dove for it, arms outstretched.

And that was where Arthur held the upper hand.

With his speed being much better than his strength, Arthur made it to the sword seconds before Percival, and then managed to roll out of his way.

Using nimble feet, Arthur managed to stand up and point the sword at Percival's neck before he have even gotten to his feet. The crowd cheered.

Arthur addressed them yet again, holding up his sword and spinning slowly in a circle. Percival got to his feet and dusting himself off.

"Well done." Arthur congratulated, shaking his hand, "You've gotten a lot better."

"I still have a lot of work to do, it seems." Percival panted, his grin wide.

"Prince Arthur!" Both their smiles fell as Arthur turned to face KIng Deslin. In his peripherals, he could see Percival being escorted back into the tent by guards.

"Sire." Arthur clipped, no longer bothering to hide the hatred in his voice.

"A good fight. You're onto the next round." King Deslin drawled. The fake enthusiasm he had plastered on his face for the previous matches had now vanished.

Arthur felt himself tense with anger, "Is that it?"

King Deslin looked down at him, "I'm sorry?"

"I want an explanation. What do you want with Merlin? How do you manage to control all these people?"

King Deslin regarded him with glorious boredom. Then a smirk spread across his face and he leaned forward, "Win this tournament and I'll tell you."

Arthur froze. He turned to leave, but he paused when King Deslin continued speaking.

"I didn't actaully have a prize ready for this tournament. I'll be honest in the fact that wanted a peace treaty with you, but, well, I suppose that's out of the question."

Arthur watched him silently, not daring to interrupt the King's thoughts. Enjoying Arthur's attention, King Deslin's smirk widened, "So, what say you and me agree on the prize, hmm? Win this tournament and I'll give back Merlin. That has to be you specifically, not one of your knights. If you fail, then you leave without complaint and I bend his powers to my will. Deal?"

Arthur's jaw clenched. He couldn't refuse. He never backed down from a challenge, "Deal."

King Deslin leant back in his seat, smiling smugly, "Then you're dismissed."

As if on cue, two guards grabbed Arthur and dragged him back towards the tent, where Percival was waiting. They were ordered to put there swords and shields back on the rack and then, giving them a once-over to make sure they hadn't snuggled any weapons, the guards placed the cuffs back on them and marched them back to their cell.

On the way there, Percival studied Arthur silently. He had contemplated where he went wrong, and understood it perfectly. If he had been just a little bit faster then he would have been able to grab the sword and win the match. However, when he looked at Arthur, he realised the the prince didn't even look to be out of breath. He had known that the prince had pretended to be out of breath so that Percival would lunge, it was just that he didn't realise it was a trap until it was to late. Now, Arthur didn't look to be out of breath at all. Percival couldn't help but stare at him, amazed.

"Thank you." Percival was snapped out of his thoughts when he realised that Arthur was speaking to him.

"What for?" Percival asked, the chair clinking together as they were led down the hallway.

"For going all out when I ordered you to." Arthur smiled, "The fight was a challenge, I assure you. You did well, Percival."

"Thank you, Sire." Percival grinned, relieved, "One more thing?"

Arthur turned his head to look at him again, "What is it?"

"Fight me again when we get back to Camelot. Again and again until I get it right."

Arthur's face broke out into a smile at that, beaming with nothing but pride, "I'd be honoured, Sir Percival."

With that, the two men fell silent as the guard led them back down into the dungeons and into the cell. When they were cuffed back into the walls, Gwaine perked up.

"So? Who won?" He asked as the guards walked away. 

"Who do you think?" Percival smiled, jerking his head towards Arthur. Gwaine turned his head to congratulate him, but Arthur wasn't paying attention.

"Where's Merlin?" Arthur whispered, he was struggling to keep himself together, but his eyes betrayed his panic in a second. Aithusa was still there, curled up forlornly, missing her master's warmth.

Lancelot looked at him with sympathy, "I'm sorry, Arthur. They took him."


	21. A fight full of clues

Arthur straightened and leant his back against the wall, trying to control his breathing.

"King Deslin told me something." Arthur spoke up after a good while, "He said he's willing to give Merlin back."

"Alright. What's the catch?" Lancelot asked.

"That I have to win the tournament. If I try anything else the deal's off."

"Piece of cake!" Gwaine said, "We'll just-"

"No!" Arthur said, "I'm pretty sure King Deslin has a good idea of your fighting strength now that he's watched every one of you fight. If one of you goes up against me, he'll know when you're slacking off. You won't help by trying to make things easier."

"Well, we have to do something!" Gwaine sighed, "I am not sitting here while my best friend is at the mercy of some creep!"

"I know how you feel, believe me." Arthur told him, "But if something happens to Merlin beacuse we were reckless idiots then I would never be able to forgive myself. And I know you wouldn't either."

Gwaine fell into a seething silence. He looked at Gaius's letter, which was still stitting in Lancelot's lap, and cocked his head, "So, this Fomorrah thing that Merlin went off about." He started, "Does it say anything about it?"

Lancelot shook his head, "No, I already looked. It only says about the Vixen's heart, Merlin didn't know anything about the mind control when he sent his letter so he didn't ask about it."

"We're on our own for that I suppose." Percival admitted.

There was a moment of silence as the weight of the situation settled on their shoulders. It was broken as Gwaine laughed, tilting his head to the ceiling.

"What?" Percival asked, nudging Gwaine with his leg.

"Nothing, just..." Gwiane cleared his throat, "This is the first time we've been up against a magic creature without Gaius or Merlin spitting facts about it to us."

Arthur sighed, shifting uncomfortably in the silence that followed. He'd never admit it, but he missed the servant's constant talking, "Well, there's nothing we can do about that now. Did Merlin tell you anything else about the creature after me and Percival were sent away?"

"No, they came in pretty much after you did." Lancelot explained, "All that Merlin said was that the little snakes were cut of and placed in the victim's necks, and then they were the slave of whoever put the snake here."

Arthur frowned, "But that can't be what's happening here. The mind control isn't permanent on the sorcerers, he's only taking control off them during fights."

"That's what confused us." Lancelot nodded, "But I think the collars have something to do with that. They cover the base of the neck, where the Fomorrah is supposed ot be hidden. Perhaps it does something to control it's influence over the victim?"

"I don't think the specifics really matter." Percival piped up, "Only how we free everyone from it's control."

After a moment of consideration, Gwaine suggested, "What about the Lamia? That was some sort of mind control on us, right? Gwen killed it and we were all free of it's control. Perhaps it's the same here."

"Killing the one under the castle?" Percival asked, "That sounds doable."

"You're forgetting something." Arthur snapped, "We can't do anything. If we try anything to resist, King Deslin will kill Merlin. Or worse."

"He won't be able to if none of his sorcerers are under his influence anymore." Gwaine winked, grinning, "End the snake's life, end King Deslin's reign."

"And the illusion wall?" Arthur challenged, "How are we going to get past that?"

Gwaine paused, "Ah."

"Adelaine." Lancelot figured, giving Gwaine a smile, "We get out of here, find Elyan and Leon, ask Adelaine to disarm the illusion and then we kill the Fomorrah."

"Sounds like a plan." Gwaine shrugged, his smile much brighter now that they knew what they were doing.

"However..." Lancelot shifted the paper in his lap so that it fell onto the cell floor, "Someone else should have this. My match should be starting any minute now, and we can't let the guard discover this."

Clumsily, he managed to get his feet under that page and slide it over to Gwaine, who then grabbed with his feet and promptly sat on it.

"They'll never know." Gwaine said, wiggling his eyebrows, "Besides, doesn't matter anymore, Lancelot practically memorised the whole thing. Maybe we should have the dragon burn it?" He jerked his head towards Aithusa, who had been curled up the entire time in the spot where Merlin had been, calling out to him every so often.

"I don't think that would be wise, Gwaine. Better safe than sorry." Lancelot answered with a shrug.

Just then, the cell door opened and a guard walked in, "You." He said, walking over to Lancelot, "It's time for your match."

Nodding at Arthur, Lancelot allowed himself to be dragged up onto his feet and led out of the cell. 

While the guards marched him towards the tent, Lancelot didn't do much to provoke them. All he did was stare ahead of him, wondering what the best thing to do was. If Arthur needed help winning this tournament, then the best thing he could do right now is help eliminate the Rivkah competition, and he could start by winning this match.

"Here." The guard said, handing him a piece of stale bread and some water, "Wouldn't want you collapsing during the middle of a fight."

Lancelot regarded him suspiciously, but decided that the man would have nothing to gain from poisoning his food.

"Thank you." He replied, taking the food into cuffed hands and eating it.

After he had finished off the bread and the water, which didn't take long, Lancelot went back into his thoughts. The best he could do to help right now was to beat Boar. But, if he looked at the bigger picture, the knights no longer had Merlin to help them, and they would need as much information as they could get when it came to those collars. Someway, somehow, Lancelot figured that he could make the most of this match by inspecting the collar as much as he could. There had to be some sort of clue on there that could help them.

When they arrived at the tent, Lancelot was ushered in.

"You have five minutes to prepare." Was all he got from the guard that was now removing his cuffs, "Anything funny and we'll send order to kill your friends."

"Understood." Lancelot said, rubbing his wrists slightly.

He grabbed his sword from the rack and examined it thoughtfully. Whilst it pained him to have to be complacent when his friends were in trouble, he simply couldn't do anthing as foolish as to attack the guard and face the powerful sorcerers that would defeat him in a second. For now, they needed information, and Lancelot was going to get it. So, he unsheathed his sword and swung it around the tent, stretching and warming up for the fight ahead.

The minute he had known he was up against Boar, Lancelot had studied him with every opportunity he got. At every feast and even while he was standing on the sidelines. The man seemed to be as big as Percival, bigger even, the collar bulging around his neck. However, Lancelot didn't see him using magic during the fight with Themison, so he was still a knight. A strategy was forming in his head, one that revolved around getting a good look at Boar's collar.

Lancelot was snapped out of his thoughts when the guard spoke up, "It's time."

Sure enough, the horn blared through the air seconds after that, and Lancelot hurried over to the rack to fetch his shield and made his way to the entrance of the tent, ignoring the piercing stare that the guard was giving him, almost challenging him to make a wrong move.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the second match of the second round!"

Lancelot focused on his breathing as the crowd cheered. He blocked the sound out and played over the strategy in his head.

"First up, the man loaded with muscles, Sir Boar!"

The crows erupted into cheers as Boar stepped out of his tent. Lancelot frowned slightly, trying to decide whether it would be best to make the first move or spend it trying to deem his opponent's strength.

"And secondly, the noblest man of them all, Sir Lancelot!"

Lancelot stepped out of the tent and walked to his place in the ring, smiling and waveing politely at the cheering crowd. After a few seconds, he lowered his arm and faced his opponent.

Boar's look of fury was one that reminded Lancelot of Byrne's when she had faced Arthur. Lancelot briefly wondered if King Deslin had to cover his food in a sedative after every match as well.

On cue, the Vixen's heart glowed for a minute and Lancelot watched as all the hatred leaked out of Boar's eyes.

"Serve King Deslin." Lancelot heard clearly. When he looked over to the king, he saw a smug smirk on his face, not bothering to hide that he was controlling Boar. Lancelot gripped his sword and shield as the announcer raised his arm.

"Begin!"

Lancelot held his ground as Boar sprang into action, deciding who made the first move before Lancelot had even taken his first step.

the knight of Camelot grunted in surprise as the force behind Boar's sword thundered down upon him, making his arm tremble. Immediately, Boar was lifting his sword and bringing it crashing down on Lancelot's shield again and again.

Once he had gathered the rhythm of Boar's attacks, Lancelot swung his sword to inturrupt him, and began his own onslaught, performing maneouvers he had been practicing his entire life.

Whilst he had Boar on the ropes, Lancelot studied the collar around Boar's neck carefully. The iron was cold and dull, but seemed to shimmer just a bit in the sunlight. Lancelot had seen Merlin perform magic enough times to know what it felt like. If he could just get a little closer...

Lancelot pushed on and on, the sword feeling like an extension of his arm, just like it always did. In his peripherals, he could see the edge of the arena behind Boar, and a plan formed. Using all of his strength, Lancelot pushed Boar into the edge, swinging his sword and bringing it clashing between them. As Lancelot pushed all of his weight into the blow, he leaned closer to take a look at the collar. Yes, Lancelot could feel it's warmth. Not only was the stone magical, but the collar was as well. Now Lancelot just needed to figure out what it did.

With a yell, Boar managed to yank the swords apart and, now that Lancelot had what he was after, he allowed Boar to start gaining ground. The two parried, watching the others' move with beady eyes. Boar attacked Lancelot's shield again, causing the hand that was gripping the shield to turn white with the effort of holding on. After they had arrived at the centre again, Lancelot meant to offer up more of a challenge, but it was easier said than done.

Boar was on a roll now, and Lancelot was struggling to keep up. He kept delivering one blow after another, and Lancelot was panicking when he found that he was struggling to keep up.

Struggling, he barred his sword into Boar and threw off the barrage of attacks. As soon as Boar's surprise granted him the upper hand, he started attacking the lower portion of the sword, trying with all his night to dislodge it from Boar's grip.

Unfortunately, his grip stayed true, and Lancelot was back at square, only now he was even more exhausted. He remembered Boar's fight against Themison, and recalled that Boar hadn't used this much force in that fight. In the flurry of attacks, Lancelot wondered if the Vixen's heart allowed King Deslin to control a knight's strength as well as a sorcerer's magic. 

While the two clashed swords again, Lancelot kept his eyes on the collar. Now that he knew it was magic, it seemed more definate that there was something wrong with it. It looked... hazy. Lancelot thought about all the years he had roughed it out in the wild, where he would have happily fought a griffin for some water. The type of haziness that would start whenever his thirst caused him to hallucinate, the fuzziness that rippled around the edges that had reminded him of water in his thirst. Lancelot bit his lip, trying with all his might to keep his sword swinging whilst his mind wondered.

That collar was the last remaining mystery between finally understanding just what was going on. Figure out what was behind the colllar and they would be able to decide the next course of action.

With this new knowledge, Lancelot's motivation improved, and with it, his determination. He snapped out of his thoughts and planted his feet in the ground, baring his teeth as he brought the two swords grating off each other. With every ounce of strength he could muster, he used both his sword and shield to push Boar back, more and more, getting encouraged every time Boar would trip over his feet.

Finally, with one final push, Lancelot brought Boar to the ground.

But he wasn't done yet.

When Lancelot brought his sword down on Boar, instead of pointed the sword at his neck, he made sure to lightly tap the collar with it. Then, with no sunshine to act as an excuse, with no thirst or starvation influencing Lancelot's thoughts like they did once upon a time, Lancelot saw with his very own eyes the collar flicker slightly. His eyes widened as he finally realised what the collar was.

The crowd cheered, blissfully unaware of Lancelot's epiphany. He loomed over Boar, watching the feeling seep back into his eyes as the bigger man looked around and got his bearings. Sure enough, when his eyes feel on King Deslin, Lancelot saw them fill with hatred. Lancelot was considering telling Boar that his next meal would most likely be covered in a sedative, but King Deslin called as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Sir Lancelot!"

Lancelot walked up to the man and bowed, hating every second, "Sire." He bit.

"I see you're up against Prince Arthur in the next round!" King Deslin spoke, "Judging from that match, I'd say you're evenly matched with your prince."

Lancelot stared at the ground, refusing to say a word.

"I'm sure you're prince has told you about the situation that I've out him in, so let me make one thing clear. I'll know if you go easy on him. Be sure not to make that mistake."

Lancelot nodded, not bothering to hide his scowl, "Yes, Sire."

"You're dimissed. Guards!"

As if out of nowhere, a guard appeared and grabbed Lancelot by the arms, dragging him back towards the tent where they snapped cuffs on him and placed his sword and shield back on the rack. On the way back to the cell, Lancelot mulled over the information he ahd just learned in his fight, and how they could slot it into the puzzle. They'd need to if they wanted any chance of rescuing Merlin.

Meanwhile, at the phycisian's chambers, there was a grim silence as Leon and Elyan had recieved the news serveral hours ago, and Adelaine was under strinct orders not to let them out of their sight.

"We have to help them." Elyan snarled the minute he knew his friends were locked up.

"You know that's not going to work." Leon stated, fighting to keep a calm head, "Two of us against multiple powerful sorcerers?"

"If we can just get to the cells and free the others, we may have a chance!"

"No, Elyan! We act under Arthur's orders, not our own. He'll be planning something with Merlin and the others, I'm sure of it. And if we're to play any part in that, then we ned to stay obedient, otherwise the whole plan may fall apart! Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Elyan gritted out. He knew that what Leon was saying was the truth, but it didn't make him any less angry. Leon looked at him in pity, knowing full well what it was like. However, after several gruelling years under the reign of King Uther, Leon had managed to school his emotions fairly well.

"It doesn't matter whether Arthur wants you in here or not." Came Adeliane's voice from the other side of the room, "Leon, the posion's all but faded, you'll be out tomorrow. Elyan, the same can be said for you in another few days."

"But Adelaine!" Elyan protested, "Arthur said you told them about the snake monster. Couldn't you help us?"

Adelaine scoffed, "I've done all I could. It seems the knights of Camelot and the knights of Rivkah are brewing up for one big fight, and believe me, I want no part of it."

Just then, Adelaine grunted and clutched at her head. Leon and Elyan started in alarm.

"Adeliane?" Adelaine heard Leon call, but it was drowned out by the voice in her head.

" _Hello?_ " Came the voice, sounding quiet and unwell.

Adeliane's face scrunched up in confusion, "Merlin?" In her peripherals, Adeliane saw the knights react, but she ignored them, "You're a sorcerer?"

" _I am, I'm sorry I hid it from you before._ " The voice inside her head apologised. Now that she had gotten used to the slight echo, Adelaine could indeed hear Merlin's voice bouncing around her head. 

She spoke aloud, not quite used to the art of telepathy, "It's fine, I understand why you'd hide it. Are you in the cells? Do you want me to pass on a message to Elyan and Leon?"

" _Not quite._ " Merlin decided, " _I need a favour._ "

"Oh really?" Adelaine scoffed, "What's in it for me?"

" _Freedom, if it works. It just might free King Deslin's control of everybody._ "

Adelaine started, "You're serious?"

" _I am. Have you heard of the Fomorrah?_ "

"I can't say I have, no." Adelaine scowled.

" _Oh well, it doesn't matter._ " Came Merlin's exhausted voice, " _I need you to whip something up._ "

"Like what? Explain, Merlin, I'm not sitting around with no answers, boy."

" _Fine! The Fomorrah is a creature that allows someone to influence their victims._ " Merlin explained, " _However, if we make a potion, we can paralyze the creatures for a day and get the control of the Rivkah sorcerers for just enough time to kill the Fomorrah and defeat King Deslin._ "

"I see what you mean." Adelaine muttered, "And Arthur came up with this plan?"

" _No, I was seperated from them. They don't know I'm talking to you._ " Merlin's voice echoed around her head and, for one second, Adelaine thought that he sounded sad.

"Fair enough. So, what's in this potion you want me to make?"

And with that, Merlin listed this ingrediants as Adelaine wrote them down, repeating them aloud as she did so. Leon and Elyan looked at each other, baffled.

"Right." Adelaine finished, dropping her pen, "And how much of this do you want me to make?"

" _I'm not sure._ " Merlin was panicking now. Adelaine knew he was running out of time, " _Just... as much as you can? Have Leon and Elyan help you. I'm sorry, I have to go! Bye!_ "

With that, Adelaine felt his prescene leave her. She sat in silence for a moment, worried for the young warlock. Then, she slammed her desk, making the two knights jump.

"Right!" She started, looking at the two confused patients in their beds, "Looks like we've got some work to do."


	22. A rebellion full of fun

When Lancelot was shoved back into his handcuffs and the guards left the cell, the knights all turned to him.

"Did you win?" Percival asked what they were all thinking.

"I did." Lancelot confirmed.

Arthur leant back against the wall, shifting to try and make himself comfortable, "No going easy, on me, understand?"

"Yes, Sire." Lancelot nodded, "Though there's something else that I discovered during the fight with Boar."

"And what's that?" Arthur leaned forward slightly, intrigued. He had thought they were stuck with all the information that they were going to get now that Merlin had been captured. 

"The collars." Lancelot was breathing heavily, still trying to recover from his match, "They're magic."

"What?" The knights muttered their surprise, giving Lancelot time to get his breath back.

"How are they magic? They're just the iron encasing that stone." Arthur's brows pinched when he was the first to recover. Whenever he thought he was finally getting to understand magic, some other information came in and made itself known. Merlin was right. He'd be as old as Gaius when he finally understood it all.

"I'm not entirely sure myself." Lancelot shook his head apologetically, "But when I won I tapped my sword against Boar's collar and it... flickered."

"Flickered?" Gwaine repeated.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure how else to explain it, "It's just... when I had a closer look at the collar when we were fighting, the collar looked almost like a hallucination."

"But how? You mean like the collar doesn't exist?" Percival shook his head, baffled. He knew he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but still. All this information regarding magic seemed to leave more questions than it did answers.

Arthur ignored Percival, deep in his own thoughts. While the other knights were discussing their theories, Arthur snapped back up to attention, "No, not like hallucinations!"

The others looked at him as he tried to pieces of information clicked into place. "Sire...?" Lancelot tried as Arthur stared at the ground. Finally, his grin grew wider.

"That's it!" Arthur exclaimed, "They're not hallucinations! They're illusions! The collars aren't actually collars as all, they're something else, but King Deslin has used his magic to make them look like collars!"

Instead of the gasps of surprise and enlightenment that Arthur had been expecting, the others just stared at them blankly. In the silence, Aithusa mumbled in her sleep, shifted a bit, but didn't wake up.

"So let me get this right." Gwaine was the first to recover, "The collars are something else in disguise."

"Yes." Arthur answered.

"What?" Gwaine countered.

Arthur froze, "I don't know."

"Wait." Percival spoke up, "What if they're those little snakes that Merlin was going on about?"

"The Fomorrah?" Arthur suggested.

"Yeah, that." Percival nodded, "Merlin said that the stone needed some sort of venom to work, right? But dipping all those stones in snake venom has got to be tedious, so if the little snake things bite their teeth into the stone..."

"And inject their venom into it daily..."

"And then wrap themselves around the victim's neck..."

"The collars are actually the Fomorrah snakes in disguise." Arthur muttered to himself. Then, laughing, "The collars are actually the Fomorrah snakes in disguise! Percival, you did it!"

"Guess that small brain of yours isn't so tiny after all!" Gwaine jeered, earning a kick from Percival. The commotion seemed to wake Aithusa up, and the knights watched as she yawned and stretched, then got herself comfortable.

"That isn't fair." Gwaine muttered, "Why are we chained up and he isn't? He's a dragon."

"She's a baby, she's harmless." Arthur said, "At least, according to Merlin."

"The guy survived an attack from a snake monster, I'm sure a lot of things are harmless to Merlin." Lancelot chuckled.

"Can it at least breathe fire?" Percival asked, "If we can't do anything productive it terms of escape, we can at least get rid of Gwaine's hair."

"Hey!" Gwaine retorted, scoffing, "My hair is fine the way it is, thank you very much."

"Really? I wouldn't be surprised if it's flammable, what with all the alcohol you drink."

Gwaine was about to respond when he caught huge blue eyes staring owlishly up at him.

"I think she knows you're talking about her?"

"Hold on, she?" Gwaine repeated, "I thought she was a boy."

"Not according to Merlin." Arthur shook his head, "He does have another dragon loitering around somewhere, but I don't think he' be very happy being trapped in a cell with us."

"Well, hello little lady." Gwaine muttered, not paying attention to Arthur, "How are you doing?"

Aithusa chittered happily at the question, wondering towards Gwaine and sniffing. Percival grinned as he watched Aithusa gag at the smell.

"That'll be the alcohol." Percival smirked.

Arthur frowned, "Don't go getting her drunk, I don't think Merlin would be to happy about that."

Gwaine rolled his eyes, "She can't get drunk! She's a dragon."

"She's underage."

"She wouldn't mind, would you?" Gwaine turned to Aithusa, who was gagging at the smell. The knights looked at her in confusion as she opened her mouth and let out a loud sound.

"Was that a burp?" Lancelot asked no one in particular, "Did she just burp?"

"You're a bad influence, Gwaine." Percival chuckled, trying to stifle his laughter.

"I'm beginning to see you're point." Gwaine said as Aithusa slinked over to Arthur and curled up beside him.

"There? See? Good influence." Arthur boasted proudly.

"Please, she's only going to you because she can smell Merlin." Gwaine retorted.

Arthur blushed slightly, but didn't say anything. When the merriment died down, Percival studied Aithusa carefully, "Why hasn't she attacked any of the guards who have walked through the door? She saw them drag Merlin out, didn't she?"

"Perhaps she understands." Arthur shrugged, "Somehow, she knows that if we step out of line Merlin will pay the price for it."

The group fell into silence, lost in their own thoughts, thinking about their latest revelation and how they could use it in their fight against King Deslin. Eventually, Arthur sighed and looked at the very high, barred window that was just above Lancelot, "Come on, as uncomfortable as this is, we should try to get some sleep. We don't know what to expect so we should at least try to keep our strength up."

The other three silently agreed. Lancelot, Percival and Arthur, since they had exhausted themselves enough that day in their fights, quickly fell asleep. Gwaine however, shifted restlessly, trying to get himself comfortable. His fight with Leon was tomorrow, and wanted to make the most of the opportunity. He pictured himself kicking free of the guards, miraculously finding wherever they had hid Merlin and freeing him from those awful cuffs. He sighed, wondering what sort of hell his friend would be going through right now. Eventually, he felt his eyelids droop and, like the others, he finally drifted off into a fitful sleep. 

They were all woken the next morning by a loud clang as the cell door swung open. They all watched as Leon was led in by the guard and manhandled into an empty pain of cuffs. When the guard left, Leon scowled, shifting himself in an attempt to make himself comfortable.

"Good morning." He greeted, nodding to the others.

"Bold statement." Gwaine mumbled. Leon ignored him.

"How are you?" Lancelot asked as Leon tugged on his handcuffs.

"I'm fine, the poison wore off ages ago." Leon explained, "They'll be bringing Elyan in tomorrow once all his cuts have healed."

"That's good. I'll sleep better knowing we're all in one place." Percival sighed, "I just wish we knew where Merlin was."

Leon looked up, "He's not in another cell anywhere?"

"No, we saw him being led out of the dungeons." Lancelot shook his head, "He could be anywhere."

A silence fell as Leon contemplated the situation, scowling slightly, "Well. That is bad news."

"Merlin can handle himself." Arthur spoke up, "For now, there's something you need to know."

With that, Arthur jumped into the story of how Percival had figured out what the collars actually were, and the purpose of the stones.

"So, the collars are actually snakes in disguise?" Leon smiled, "That's great!"

Gwaine looked at him oddly, "No it's not?"

"No, no I mean..." Leon straightened, "Merlin talked to Adelaine last night."

"Merlin?" Arthur leaned forward, "You mean he was in the physician's chambers?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, he was in Adelaine's head."

"You mean like telepathy?" Lancelot inquired, remembering Merlin talking to him about it before.

"Yes! Me and Elyan didn't hear him, but he told Adelaine about the Fomorrah and how it could mind control people."

"So Adelaine's agreed to help us?" Arthur felt the hint of a smile tug at his face at the possibility of more allies.

"Yes, Merlin talked to her last night and mentioned some sort of antidote for the Fomorrah's mind control." Leon explained, "He said that if we can paralyze the snake, then we can release the control it has on the victim for around a day."

"So if we rub this antidote on the collars, we can free them from the Fomorrah's control long enough to defeat King Deslin?"

"Sounds like it, if what you say is true." Leon nodded, "Me and Elyan helped her make a start on it last night. She said because of the quantity and how long we'll have to leave it to brew, it should be ready in 2 days."

"2 days...?" Arthur muttered, doing the math in his head. Then, he groaned, "That's on the day of the final."

Gwaine leaned his head back on the wall, "Of course it is."

"If we're going to make an escape, that would be the best time to do it." Lancelot said, the others muttered in agreement.

"Its almost time for mine and Leon's match, so someone better get this letter, I've been sat on it all night." Gwaine shifted and moved the letter out from under him by using his legs, "Here, Percival, you have it."

"Right." Percival trued to hide his smile as he watched in amusement. After a while, Gwaine finally managed to get a hod on it and pushed it forwards to Percival, who managed to clumsily take it with his leg. After some awkward manouvering, Percival finally managed to get it underneath him.

Just then, the cell door opened, two guards appearing in the doorway, "You two." He gestured towards Leon and Gwaine, "You're up."

Leon and Gwiane let the guards undo their handcuffs without complaint and shooting grins at each other, they allowed themselves to be let out of the cell and marched down the hallway.

"Here." The guard told them, handing them both bread and water, "Eat."

Gwaine glanced at the food suspiciously, before looking at Leon. Leon noticed him watching and narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not taking the first bite for you, Gwaine." He deadpanned.

"Well, I'm not eating this until someone does." Gwaine said mulishly.

He smirked triumphantly as the guard that was walking beside him snatched the bread out of his hands and took a bite out of it himself.

"Why thank you." Gwaine grinned as he took the bread back. Leon rolled his eyes and bit into his own piece of bread, not surprised that it was stale and tasteless.

"So, Leon." Gwaine brought up as he downed the last of his water, "Ready to get your arse kicked?"

"I could say the same thing to you." Leon retorted, chuckling. Whatever was going to happen, he was glad that he was fighting against Gwaine instead of a Rivkah knight.

"Oh, please! You've just been poisoned." Gwaine told him, "As much as I hate to admit it, you're not in best form, my friend. This'll be a piece of cake."

"You really think it's going to be that easy?" Leon laughed, "Elyan told me that when you fought that knight you forgot every rule that I've ever taught you."

"And I still won."

"Elyan told me that you got everything wrong. Do that again while fighting me and you may not be so lucky."

"We'll wait and see, Leon." Gwaine smirked, "We'll wait and see."

They arrived at the tent, the guard that was waiting with them inside explaining to them that they had five minutes to prepare. After making sure that he had picked the right sword from the rack, Gwaine picked it up and started swinging it around.

"Elyan told me you accidentally drew Percival's sword." Leon said, "How'd that work out for you?"

"Pretty well, actually." Gwaine explained, "Dissarmed the knight and then used his sword against him."

"Not bad." Leon responded, "But perhaps if you'd paid attention, then you wouldn;t have had to do that in the first place."

"Come now, Leon, I won, I didn't I?" Gwaine asked, trying to make Leon see sense, "You go on about rules and how to properly defeat an opponent. Isn't winning all that matters."

"As long as it's done nobly." Leon said.

"Off course." Gwaine agreed, breifly reminded off his upbringing, "But doing something intentionally dirty and breaking a couple rules for fun are two entirely different things."

Leon was about to retort when the horn blasted through the air and sent the crowd into silence. Seeing Leon's confusion by what he meant, Gwaine smirked, "I'll show you."

Just then, the announcer spoke up, "Ladies and gentlemen! The third match of the second round!"

There was a brief pause as the crowd cheered. Leon and Gwaine took their place behind the tent flap.

"Firstly, as handsome as he is graceful, noble Knight of Camelot Sir Gwaine!"

"Bribe the announcer, did you?" Leon taunted, amused. Gwaine snickered and stepped out of the tent, waving at the audience and making a show. He did a slow circle, blowing kisses and showing off his sword as he took his sweet time getting into position.

"And secondly, one of the longest knights of Camelot, the loyal Knight of Camelot Sir Leon!"

Leon stepped out, nodding to the crowd curtly as he walked to his place. Gwaine tutted at him, shaking his head, "Not one for an enterance are you?"

"Why should I? The crowd'll remember my name not because of my enterance, but because of my victory." Leon bragged, getting himself ready.

"We'll see." Gwaine grinned as the announcer lifted his arm.

"Begin!"

Just to spite Leon, Gwaine immediately jumped in and made the first move, testing his sword against Leon's shield.

Leon held his ground, swiping at Gwaine's sword and pushing the knight back with his own parries. Gwaine toyed around with him a little, allowing himself to pushed back. 

"You're not taking this seriously!" Leon said between strikes of his sword.

"Oh, aren't I?" Gwaine drawled. He grinned as he felt Leon's temper rise as the strikes against Gwaine's shield became more and more frequent.

"You're not doing anything!" Leon shouted over the clanging of his sword, "Fight back!"

"Why? Because I'm supposed to?" Gwaine chortled, "Perhaps I'm more content to just let you exhaust yourself, then finish you off once you've let it all out."

Leon looked at him oddly, trying to decide for himself what Gwaine was trying to do, "That's not what I taught you to do."

"Oh, rules, rules, rules!" Gwaine droned on, "That's all you've been teaching me ever since I became a knight." Gwaine interrupted Leon's swings by thrusting, forcing Leon to block his strike with a grunt, "How about we break the rules? Just this once, huh?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Leon frowned as he swept Gwaine's sword to the side and continued his onslaught. With all of Gwaine's careless talking, he had failed to realise the the edge of the arena was coming up behind him. When he bumped into it, Gwaine spared a look back and shrugged.

"Whoops. Took it to far." He said. Leon tensed, noticing how Gwaine didn't seem worried at all, "Guess I'm just going to have to improvise."

With that, he swung at Leon with so much sudden strength that the older knight had to step back in surprise. Using the time this had granted him, Gwaine leapt up onto the barrier that seperated the arena and the crowd and swung downwards. Swallowing his surprise, Leon was just in time to block the strike with his shield.

"Look at that!" Gwaine laughed as he loomed over Leon, "I've got the higher ground!"

"Get down from there!" Leon hissed. Around him, he could hear the crowd muttering in alarm.

"Or what? You're going to tattle on me?" Gwaine swung a few more times, of all his strength behind the sword. 

Leon blocked with his shield, grunting with the effort, "This is against the rules! This isn't a game! This isn't one of your tavern fights!"

"Whining because you're at a disadvantage, are you?" Gwaine smirked, "Come and join me up here."

"Don't be absurd!" Leon snarled, irritated that Gwaine couldn't do what he'd been told. Following up on his irritation, he swung at Gwaine with his sword. Gwaine ducked and weaved, sidestepping his way along the barrier with an ease that reminded Leon horribly of a tavern fight.

"Missed!" Gwaine remarked triumphantly as he jumped out of the way of Leon's sword, "You're not going to do much good down there, I'm afraid."

"Oh really?" tested Leon, "Then how's this?"

Frustration at Gwaine's antics building up in his arms, he used the strength to push at Gwaine's balance with his shield. Hope began to leak into him when he saw Gwaine topple slightly, but it was quickly filled with dread when Gwaine fell into the other side of the barrier and into the crowd.

"Ha! Well, would you look at that?" Gwaine exclaimed as he picked himself up, "Looks like I've got an audience. Excuse me miss..."

Leon watched in amazement as Gwaine made his way through the crowd and in front of the stairs. When he had gotten there, he looked at Leon, "Well?"

"Well, what?" Leon huffed.

"Are you coming in or not?" Gwaine asked.

"We can't fight in the crowds, get out of there!" Leon exclaimed, making exaggerated gestures in his incredulity.

"Don't feel like it." Gwaine hummed, "And if you want any chance of beating me, you're going to have to come over here."

Leon stared at him, certain that'd he'd never understand what went on in Gwaine's head. Gwaine simply gave him that idiotic grin of his, wiggling his eyebrows in a taunt. Leon looked over at King Deslin, who looked surprised, but amused.

"Come on!" Gwaine urged, "What's one rule?"

Leon sighed, "I'm going to kill you."

"That's what I like to hear!" Gwaine grinned as Leon leapt over the side, "Heads up!"

And then Gwaine was swinging overhead, Leon only just parrying with his own sword. The crowd gave yells of alarm around them, covering their eyes and mouths.

"We should move back to the other side!" Leon shouted over them, "It's safer over there!"

"Hang on!" Gwaine called back, "I've got a better idea!"

With that, Gwaine started slowly moving his way backwards. SInce Gwaine had landed in front of a stairwell, that meant there were no people behind them, only in towards either side. When he looked up, Leon could see millions of concerned faces looking down at them. Leon followed Gwaine, an inkling of what he was doing.

"You can't be serious!" Leon shouted over the noise. Gwaine simply grinned at him.

"Come on, you're not going to be able to win if you don't!" He taunted as he climbed onto a step. Leon looked at him in amazement. Sighing in defeat, he gripped his sword and swung, the shouts of encouragement from the crowds now a hair's breath away from them.

Their swords danced together, mindful of the spectators that were either side of them. Gwaine continued to climb up the stairs slowly, nudging the way with his feet, unable to take his eyes of Leon. Leon followed after him, their swords clashing all the way. He hated to admit it, but he found the change of scenery to be quite exhilarating, like he was a child who was doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"That's more like it!" A feral grin spread on Gwaine's face, "Isn't this fun?"

"You keep saying that. We're not supposed to be having fun, Gwaine." Leon stated.

"I know things are bad. I know we're in danger." Gwaine's smile fell a bit, "But right now we need to show King Deslin that he doesn't control us. And how do we do that?"

Leon grinned, "We break a rule."

And then Leon shoved Gwaine's sword off his own and ran up a few steps while Gwaine was recovering. He then brought his sword raining down upon Gwaine, who blocked it with his shield.

"Look at that!" Leon grinned as he loomed over Gwaine, "I've got the higher ground!"

Gwaine smirked, "Not for long!"

The two continued, swinging their swords left and right, both of them refusing to yield. Their roles had been reversed, with Leon now walking backwards up the stairs and Gwaine climbing after him. Since he now had the higher ground, Leon was doing better, despite losing his footing every now and then because of the steps. Gwaine saw these little slip-ups and cashed in on them, pressing into Leon with his shield. This caused Leon to pick up his pace, resulting in even more mistakes. Gwaine watched them all like a hawk as he waved his sword around, a careless smile on his face.

Their muscles burned and their legs ached, but that was all the same when it came to a fight. What was completely different for Leon were the surroundings. He had only ever fought on flat, safe ground before. Now that Gwaine had pushed him out here, he was aware of the creak in the wood, the crowd that were now below him and the flap of the banners overhead. Gwaine, however, was more than acquainted with the skill of knowing his surroundings, having mapped out tons of taverns during bar fights alone.  
And in the end, that's what got him his victory.

After several minutes of fighting at the very top of the stands, Gwaine managed to push his shield into Leon. Leon, having been to busy thinking about where to place his feet, was caught in alarm and sent toppling to the ground. The crowd that were below them erupted into a deafening cheer, though it took a while for the crowd at the opposite end to join in since they couldn't actually see who won.

Gwaine grinned as he offered a hand to Leon, "Wanna grab a drink sometime?"

Leon clasped his hand firmly, smiling, "Sounds fun, Gwaine."

Gwaine smirked, "That's Sir Gwaine to you."

The two made their way back down the stairs and over the barrier. Leon was escorted back into the tent by guards as Gwaine made his way to King Deslin.

"Sir Gwaine." King Deslin remarked curtly, "That was quite the fight."

"What can I say." Gwaine stared at him, his eyes burning with defiance, "I'm just full of surprises."

"Indeed." King Deslin snarled, "You're dismissed."

Gwaine let himself be taken back into the cell with Leon, glad that, even for a little while, he had managed to have some genuine fun with his friend.


	23. A chamber full of antidote

The physician's chambers door slammed shut as Elyan watched helplessly as the guards took Leon away, under strict orders from him that he was forbidden to get involved. He had spent a full five minutes pacing afterwards, the scrapes he had gotten from hid fight now barely visible.

"I should go after them." Elyan decided, making his way to the door.

"Don't be stupid. Calm down." Came Adelaine's call as she read over Merlin's instructions once more. Elyan stood in front of the door, frowned, then sighed and sat on the bed.

"But what if they need me?" Elyan asked, allowing all his doubts to que up from his head to his mouth as he wringed his hands.

"They're in a dingy cell in no immediate danger, working this all out while they're taken to fight in some matches. I'm sure they'll be fine for now." Adelaine murmured as she squinted at the page.

Elyan fell silent, rocking himself on the bed.

"You're right. They'll be fine." He muttered to himself as he stared at the door, half-hoping that a guard will come and take him to the cell anyway. As a thought occurred to him, he stood up.

"But what if they're injured? What if Merlin's getting hurt? What if-"

"Calm down." Elyan paused as Adelaine's voice grew a lot louder, "Snap out of it, boy, you're being an idiot."

Elyan looked at her for a minute as if he wanted to protest, but he eventually gave in and settled with tapping his foot on the floor, looking around impatiently.

"And stop with the foot tapping, it's getting on my last nerve."

Elyan stopped, glancing at her sheepishly. He stared at the floor, fighting to calm down, "How did Merlin sound when he contacted you?"

Elyan didn't quite get it, but he and Leon had listened to Adelaine speaking aloud last night to someone that the couldn't see. After the 'call' from last night, Adelaine had explained to them both that Merlin had spoken into her head and had a task that they needed to do.

This time Adelaine looked up at him fully, and Elyan could see concern flashing in her eyes, "He sounded fine when he spoke to me. He didn't sound injured or anything, but... he sounded quiet. Tired, almost. Like it was taking everything he had to contact me. Then at the end of the call, he said he had to go."

Elyan shook his head, "But I don't understand how he could have contacted you. He had these cuffs on, the marks of the Old Religion that compressed magic were on them. I was commissioned to make a few on my travels whenever a village insisted on burning a sorcerer."

Adelaine glanced up sharply, "You would have a sorcerer put to death?"

Elyan's face hardened, "Not anymore I won't."

Adelaine stared at him for a moment, then returned to examining the recipe, her sudden temporary anger gone, "I'm not entirely sure what happened, but... just from having his magic in my head alone, Merlin seemed to be a very powerful sorcerer. I doubt that those marks would have been enough to hold him."

"Then his cuffs were taken off?" Elyan figured, "Why didn't he fight back?"

"Perhaps he was under the supervision of sorcerers all under King Deslin's control while King Deslin searched for... stronger methods of holding him." Adelaine finished grimly. Elyan felt a pit of dread growing at her words, but shook it off quickly.

"But enough of that." Adelaine brought up after a heavy silence, "Come and help me with this antidote."

"Of course." Elyan grinned as he walked over to the table that was scattered with ingredients, "What would you like me to do?"

There was a brief pause as Adelaine decided on an answer. The pot in the centre was already brewing with the foundation of the antidote, but it would still be a few days before it was ready. According to Merlin, if they wanted to make as much antidote as they could, then the antidote was going to take a while. Last night, he and Leon had helped her find the right ingredients on the shelves and had helped her add the first few. After the first few steps had been done though, a lot of waiting was involved between the steps so that in the medicinal abilities in the different herbs would blend correctly. If they managed to get it wrong, then that would affect the amount of time the sorcerers would stay free of King Deslin's control, which could be their downfall. They had to make sure they got it right.

"It's almost been 3 hours." Adelaine said, "It'll almost be time to add some of the Rosemary. Would you mind preparing it?"

"Sure." Elyan nodded. Without complaint, he grabbed the herb and started dicing it, smiling slightly as he did so.

"Those are very skilled hands you have." Adelaine smiled at the steady, effortless movements of the knife, "Where did you learn how to do that?"

Elyan looked up at her and smiled briefly, "My mother died shortly after my sister Gwen was born, and my father was to busy trying to make a living in his blacksmith. He continued to apologise, saying he needed to spend more time with us, but there was never enough money for us to truly relax. So, I had to learn to take care of my sister. Cooking, cleaning. I started teaching her when she was old enough, but when I started traveling by myself I picked up cooking again."

"And you gave traveling to become a knight?" Adelaine asked as she stirred the potion.

"Yes, I did. I wouldn't have bothered if it wasn't for my sister. I didn't think much of princes or knights beforehand, but then my sister told me how much she cared for one of the knights, and I had to make sure she was safe, that the intention of the knight was pure. He became one of my best friends, so I enrolled to be a knight as well, and then I made friends with everyone else as well."

"You sound like a very tight group. Not at all how a prince usually treats his knights." Adelaine's voice grew more stern as she spoke, reminded of how cruelly King Deslin treated his knights.

"No. Prince Arthur treats everyone the same, knights and servants alike. I'm honoured to fight for him, and I'll be even more honoured when he finally becomes king."  
The two fell silent as Elyan finished dicing the rosemary.

"It's time." Adelaine checked the sky outside briefly, "We have to add it in bunches, one every few minutes. Grab a bit, not that much... that's it..."

Elyan sprinkled the first bunch of rosemary in. When the spitting and bubbling of the potion died down, Elyan looked up suddenly as the sounds of swords clanging drifted to his ears.

"There's a match on. That means..." Elyan didn't finish his thought at he raced to the window and peered out.

Sure enough, Elyan grinned as he made out the figures of Leon and Gwaine fighting in the arena.

"The match has started!" Elyan finsihed, watching them, "Looks like Gwaine has the upper hand..."

"Yes, well, Leon has just recovered from poison." Adelaine defended, going to join Elyan at the window. As they continued to watch them, her face fell into a frown, "What are they doing...?"

Elyan peered out of the window, just as confused as Adelaine. Gwaine had managed to get on te barrier, and was now dancing around in an attempt to avoid Leon's sword.

"That idiot!" Elyan was shaking his head in amusement, "This is a tournament fight, not a tavern fight...!"

"Seems that knight is just as reckless as you told me he was." Adelaine wached in half-horror and half-amazement as the two watched Gwaine leap over the side where the crowd was, "I don't think anyone's done that before."

"That's Gwaine." Elyan said, "Full of surprises."

"Indeed." Adelaine scowled slighly as Leon joined him. After a while of watching them, Adelaine turned back to the antidote, "Come on, it's almost time to add the rosemary..."

Elyan stayed to watch for a while, but he eventually left when Gwaine and Leon started fighting up a staircase and out of his line of vision. He joined Adelaine at the table, who was now measuring out the next bit of rosemary.

"That should be enough." She hummed, seperating it with a knife, "Now, you sprinkle it in while I stir. Not to slowly, now..."

Elyan obliged and listened to her orders, watching the potion grow a darker shade of blue every time more rosemary was added.

"What does rosemary do, anyway?" Elyan asked as the last few bits of the batch sank into the mixture.

"It quickens the beating of the heart." Adelaine explained, "In context to this potion, however, I'm assuming the faster heart means that more blood id going to the brain, which would increase the victim's awareness of what's going on and help them regain control of their body."

"I see." Elyan nodded, looking at the recipe, only understanding half of it, "I've never heard of some of these before..."

"That's because some of the ingredients are magical." Adelaine spoke up, "Since it's a magical creature we're dealing with, we're going to have to use some magic ourselves. That means I'm going to have to use some magic later on to bring out the medicinal value in some of the herbs."

"Right." Elyan said. They fell into silence as Adelaine started preparing some more igrediants, leaving Elyan to his thoughts. He wondered how often Gaius and Merlin had done this, Merlin helping Gaius with his potions and remedies, and then using magic to complete the potion and then use it to help defeat whatever the problem was in Camelot. And how did Merlin know about the potion to paralyze the Fomorrah? Had he encountered one before? Elyan didn't want to think about that. Instead, he focused on the task in front of him, using his small knife to divide the rosemary into sections.

After Elyan had separated all the rosemary into three more different batches, he sprinkled in another while Adelaine was stirring before going over to the window. He still couldn't see what was going on, but given how the crowd were all looking in the same direction with the same flabbergasted expressions, he figured that the match was still going on in the stands.

He tilted his head slightly as the crowd suddenly burst into applause, the faint murmur of cheering being heard from inside the physician's chambers. Taking this to mean that the match was over, Elyan leaned forward slightly, trying to see who had won. A grin broke out on his face when Gwaine came into view, marching over to King Deslin and bowing, not bothering to hide his hatred. Elyan watched as Leon got dragged away by the guards and he couldn't help the surge of anger in him at the thought of his friends rotting in the dungeon while he was still free to roam the physician's chambers. He swallowed the feeling though, Adelaine's words playing in his head.

"Gwaine won." Elyan smiled, "I should have known."

Adelaine scoffed, not bothering to look up from her work, "Were they still fighting in the crowds?"

"They were." Elyan said, watching Gwaine's exchange with King Deslin, "No one seemed to get hurt."

"I should think not." Adelaine scolded, "Idiots."

Elyan laughed despite himself, then turned away from the window in order to put in the penultimate batch of rosemary, "They are. But they're good men at heart."

"I suppose that's what matters." Adelaine returned Elyan's smile, fondness shining in her eyes, "Now stop dawdling, it'll be time to add the final batch of rosemary soon."

Elyan grinned, looking down at the potion and being greeted by a cobalt shade of blue. According to the recipe, when all the rosemary had been added, the potion would turn a shade of purple. Elyan felt excitement bubbling in his chest. He hadn't expected this to be the way he would help his friends, but he was more than honoured to do so.

"If the match is over, than that must mean it'll be time for lunch." Adelaine said, looking out of the window and watching the crowd empty as they headed off for something to eat, 

"We should eat as well, it'll do no good to work on an empty stomach."

"Oh, that's fine, I'm not that hungry." Elyan flashed her a smile while he shook his head, eager to help with the potion. Adelaine scowled.

"Nonsense! I doubt your friends are getting any lunch at all, the least you can do is eat." Adelaine brought up. Elyan paused.

"I hadn't thought of that." He admitted, "You're right. I need to keep my strength up."

"You'd better." Adelaine agreed, "If you lot really are planning on defeating King Deslin, you're going to need it. Let's add that last batch of rosemary and then have a short break while it simmers."

Elyan nodded as he did what he was told, sprinkling the rosemary over the potion while Adelaine stirred. He smirked triumphantly as the potion turned a rich shade of purple.

"There. That should do it for a while." Adelaine muttered, dusting herself off, "How about we have something to it?"

"You sit down and rest." Elyan decided, "Just point to me to the pantry and I'll make it for us."

"Don't be ridiculous, stupid boy!" Adelaine scolded, "You're the one who's supposed to the patient."

"But..." Elyan blinked, unsure of what to say, "It's the least I can do."

"Nonsense, now sit down and I'll fetch you something."

Elyan lowered himself onto the bench beside the table that wasn't being used, looking around uncomfortably. Despite Adelaine persuading him on why he should eat, he couldn't help but feel the guilt that was gnawing at him on the fact that he got to eat and the others didn't.

"Oi!" He heard Adelaine call from the other side of the room, "Whatever you're thinking, I'll have none of it."

"I'm sorry?" Elyan pinched his eyebrow as Adelaine handed him his lunch. It was nothing much, just some bread and cheese, but Elyan wasn't complaining.

"You, allowing all those doubts into your head." Adelaine said, sitting down opposite him, "You really think that your friends will be mad about the fact that you get to eat and the other's didn't? That's stupid."

"I suppose..." Elyan muttered, biting into his bread forlornly, focusing on the potion, noticing how the rosemary was making it spit and bubble a lot more.

"It doesn't matter that your friends are locked up in the dungeon." Adelaine continued, "You lot have a plan, don't you. You're playing you're part, so you have nothing to worry about."

"I guess not." Elyan allowed a small smile to spread onto his face, "Thank you Adelaine."

"What are you thanking me for? All I did was point out the obvious."

Elyan huffed out a laugh, "Yeah. I guess you did."

With that, the rest of lunch with spent in a comfortable silence, Adelaine watching the potion of any sign that something might have gone wrong, and Elyan looking out of the window, watching as the crowd slowly returned to their seats, ready for the fourth and final match of the second round to begin.

"Cinders will be fighting next." The words left Elyan's mouth before he could stop them.

Adelaine looked up, "The one who defeated you?"

Elyan nodded, "She was better than I thought she'd be. She wore me down and managed to get the better of me on the very last strike, when I had already thought that I had won." He smiled, the match playing over again in his mind, "She's very strong. I wouldn't be surprised if she wins this fight as well."

Adelaine hummed, and the two continued eating. Elyan watched as the two figures, one of them having Cinders' unmistakeable ginger hair, stepped into the ring.

"Do you know who she's fighting against?" He asked.

Adelaine looked up from her meal, "Amason, I believe. A sorcerer."

"Two sorcerers..." Elyan muttered. The thought occurred to him that a fight like that hadn't occurred in the tournament before, "I wonder what that'll be like."

By the time he had finished his lunch and had gone over to the window, the fight had already started. Elyan watched in amazement as spells were tossed back and forth. Elyan could already see the sparks flying around the arena, suggesting Cinders had already let her dagger loose. While he was watching, Elyan couldn't help but think about the tournaments back in Camelot, and how much more interesting and thrilling they would be if sorcerers were allowed to enter. This thought led to him thinking about Merlin, and wondering just how easily Merlin would be able to beat them all in a fight. At this thought, Elyan found himself smiling, making a note to ask Merlin once this was all over.

"That's enough, Elyan." Came Adelaine's voice from behind him. The sound of plates clattering told Elyan that she had finished her lunch as well, and they were ready to continue making the antidote, "Come away from the window, we need to focus on adding the other herbs."

Elyan nodded and went over to the table, waiting patiently as Adelaine once more mulled over the recipe, trying to decide what came after the rosemary.

"Ah, the leaves of the belladonna flower. I remember, I crushed them this morning..." Adelaine muttered to herself as she examined the contents of the table, "Ah! There they are!"

"The belladonna flower?" Elyan asked, interested.

"The belladonna flower has multiple uses. The petals can cause someone to see hallucinations or illusions, but the leaves have the opposite effect. They allow you to see past them for what they really are."

"Like being able to see past mind control?" Elyan inquired, trying to understand.

"Yes. After we've added these, we let the rosemary, belladonna and all the other herbs mix and blend together. Then after it's stewed for a little while, we can go onto phase 2."

"Alright." Elyan beamed as the crowd cheered in the background. The noise being louder than usual, he looked over to the window, "Seems Cinders has already won."

"That was quick." Adelaine smirked, "Smart girl, that one."

"Indeed." Elyan hummed, "And making this potion will help her."

"Precisely." Adelaine nodded.

Elyan returned the nod and took the bowl from Adelaine. Together they watched as the grinded parts of the belladonna leaves were slowly poured into the mixture. The antidote spat at Elyan for a little while, but eventually settled.

"Now all we do is wait." Elyan announced.

"Not quite." Elyan glanced up as he saw a smirk don Adelaine's face.

Adelaine's eyes glinted mysteriously, "I have to show you something."


	24. A rivalry full of honour

The very next morning, the nights were woken up to the cell door swinging open and Elyan being escorted through, the scratches caused by Cinders' dagger now non-existent.

After the knights had cuffed him and left, Leon checked to see if he could hear any footsteps before speaking.

"How are you?" He said, shifting to ease out the aches he had gotten in the nights.

"As well as I can be when I'm locked in a cell with no one to talk to but you guys." Elyan grinned, "You?"

"About that same." Leon hummed, nodding, "How's Adelaine's potion?"

"It's going well. Should be ready by tomorrow. Speaking of..." A smirk spread across Elyan's face, "Adelaine showed me something."

"What?" Leon asked.

Elyan turned to the others. "In her storeroom there's a secret passageway that leads to the area of the castle where the entrance to the Fomorrah's cave is. Since King Deslin needed to be frequently healed of snake poison while he was taming it, he couldn't walk through the palace while poisoned, so he had a secret passageway built to the physician's chambers. If we're going to make an escape attempt tomorrow, our best course of action is the dragon can use magic to free us from our cuffs, we knock out the guards and make our way to the physicians chambers. While there, we grab bottles of antidote for other sorcerers, and then we split us to decrease the chances of getting caught. Leon and Adelaine will take the secret passageway, then myself and Lancelot will take one pathway and Gwaine and Percival will take the other."

"Can we depend on the dragon to free is from these cuffs?" Arthur asked, looking at Aithusa, who was gnawing on her tail.

"Even if she can't, Arthur, when they free you on the day of the final, you can take the keys from him and slip them to us."

"Alright." Arthur frowned, still uncertain, "And Aithusa? We can't just leave her here."

"We take her." Elyan explained, "The Fomorrah is a magical creature, so it's going to need magic to kill it. So, the dragon can."

"Aithusa?" Percival echoed, "Don't you think she's a bit... young?"

"Perhaps," Elyan nodded, "But Adelaine will be there as well. She can use her own magic to strengthen the dragon fire."

Silence fell as each of the knights contemplated this in their heads.

"And what about Merlin?" Arthur asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "Where does he come into all this?"

Elyan sighed, looking at Arthur with sympathy, "I know you're worried about Merlin, Sire, we all are." He stated, "But we don't know where he is. He could be under the guard of half the Rivkah army for half we now. If we kill the Fomorrah, the sorcerers under it's control will be freed and then we can see about rescuing Merlin."

Arthur bit his lip. He hated to admit it, but this seemed to be a plan that they'd have to carry out without their friend.

"You're right." Arthur admitted, "Let's give it a go."

The knights grinned and exchanged smiles, happy that they had an action plan at last. Now all they needed was for it to work.

Just then, the door swung open and two guards marched in, making their way over to Arthur and Lancelot without a word.

Now that they had a plan, Lancelot and Arthur were more adamant about letting themselves be manhandled out of their cuffs and into the hallway.

"Breakfasts." One of the guards grunted, handing them both some stale bread and water.

Lancelot knew from before that the bread wasn't poisoned and so munched on his thoughtfully, going through the plan in his head. Arthur watched this and, seeing that it wasn't poisoned, began to eat his as well.

As he did so, Arthur couldn't help but notice the sly grins that were occasionally on the guards faces. Every so often, when they thought that Arthur wasn't looking, they'd exchange triumphant glances.

Arthur bit his lip, certain that the two guards were hiding something. Did they know about the plan? Were they keeping something a secret from them? Arthur wanted desperately to shake the answer out of them, but knew it would get him nowhere. So, he forced himself to stare straight ahead in an attempt to push the images out of his mind.

When they were shoved inside their tent, Arthur turned to him, "I don't need to remind you to give this your all, do I?"

"No, Sire." Lancelot shook his head, taking his sword from the rack, "I understand that not giving it my all wouldn't bode well for Merlin."

Arthur tensed as he wondered where Merlin was just then, and if he had some sort of escape plan, "Right. Whatever happens, we both need to give it our best. Not just for Merlin, but for ourselves. We both deserve to see how far we've come from that broom fight in the market."

Lancelot smiled at the fond memories, "Merlin was my very first friend upon coming to Camelot. I will not see any harm come to him."

Arthur nodded, as he was reminded that his knights were just as loyal to Merlin as they were to him, "Neither will I."

Lancelot's smile grew wider as his gaze lowered to Arthur's arm.

"What?" Arthur asked.

Lancelot looked up at him, "You're still wearing his neckerchief."

Arthur gawped at him, a blush creeping up to his cheeks as he realised it to be true. The red scrap of cloth was still there, tied safely around his arm.

"It was... I mean..." Arthur's mouth opened and closed again, trying desperately to cover up the blush that was spreading on his face. Lancelot chuckled at the display.

"I'm the same with Guinevere." Lancelot admitted after Arthur finally shut up, "She's a seamstress, so she's always giving me these colourful scraps of cloth to wear for luck under my armour." He gestured towards a purple cloth with golden stiches in it before continuing, "Wearing something that's means so much to a significant other is truly something special."

Arthur nodded, dumbfounded. He wasn't one to show softness in front of his knights, and so the knights weren't ones to show their softness in front of him. This was the first time he had seen this side of Lancelot, and the conversation was so unfamiliar to him that he couldn't find the right words to say.

"I... I, uh..." He tried. 

"Merlin has been waiting to be happy for a very long time." Lancelot smiled, "It fills me with joy to know that he's finally found it in you."

Arthur gave up trying to speak and simply nodded, the neckerchief warm around his arm.

Just then, the horn sounded, and Arthur hurried to get his sword and shield from the rack.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the first of the two matches in the third round. May I remind you that the victors from today's matches will be fighting in the final tomorrow!"

Cheers went up, and Arthur imagined banners being waved by the crowd. He couldn't help but wonder how many people had bet on him.

"First up, the knight in shining armour, the prince of Camelot, Prince Arthur!"

Arthur took one last look at Lancelot before stepping out of the tent. Immediately he was greeted with applause. He noticed as he was waving that the stands seemed to be more packed then they were in the earlier rounds, though he supposed that made sense. Even back in Camelot, the earlier rounds of the tournament were missed because they had lesser-known knights in them. It was the later rounds, the ones with all the skilled and worthy fighters, that got a lot more spectators.

Sure enough, four different colours were being waved around in the crowd as they began to bet on the four semi-finalists. Since he had been stuck in the dungeon for the past few days, he wasn't entirely sure which colour was his, but he felt honoured all the same.

"Secondly, the most honourable and noble of them all, Sir Lancelot!"

The crowd picked up again, roaring and cheering as Lancelot stepped out. He nodded and waved at the audience, not having the showmanship that Arthur had inherited from his father. Arthur smiled proudly and clapped along with the crowd as Lancelot took his place, proud that one of his knights had gotten this far.

"I think they might be cheering louder for you!" He joked, planting his feet into the ground and drawing his sword.

"I have no idea what you mean, Sire." Lancelot laughed, mirroring Arthur's position.

Arthur smiled fondly at his friend. He remembered a few months ago where he had been stuck in an indecision, unsure wether or not to court Guinevere. His decision was made for him when he found Gwen in his First Knight's arms. He had been mad at first, but after a few talks with Gwen and Merlin and after a few sleepless nights, he had found out that he hadn't wanted Guinevere to be his wife: he had just thought that she'd be the most suitable candidate for queen. After waving away a thousand apologies from Lancelot, the two slowly started becoming friends again. Their friendship only further improved when Arthur had finally discovered the "vague feeling of admiration" he had for Merlin, and it helped him finally learn to let Gwen go and be happy with the man she truly loved.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw the announcer raise his hand.

"Begin!"

Arthur held up his shield as Lancelot immediately moved in and struck his shield. Arthur grunted under the weight of the sword, and couldn't help his face breaking out into a grin.

"I see you're already going all out." He laughed, but Lancelot didn't respond. He swung again and again, his face already red, not at all like the smiling friend Arthur had known just a second ago.

Arthur looked at him oddly, but it didn't take him long to figure out what he was doing. Lancelot was trying to exhaust himself quickly so that Arthur would stand a better chance later on in the match. He was trying to place himself at a disadvantage first thing while trying to make it look like an onslaught.

"Sorry to put a damper on your plan," Arthur hissed so that King Deslin wouldn't hear, "but I want our match to be even, Lancelot."

Arthur pushed Lancelot back to further emphasize his point. Lancelot glared at this, feigning anger, before leaping back in and continuing his barrage of attacks.

"That doesn't matter right now." Lancelot whispered back, "We can fight evenly as much as we want back in Camelot. Right now, we need to think about Merlin."

Arthur frowned and interrupted Lancelot's sword as quickly as he could, The two parried and thrust at each others swords, Arthur being forced to use his full strength from the get-go because of Lancelot's plan.

When Arthur had swung his sword with so much force that he had finally seperated the two, he and Lancelot stepped back and silently agreed for a short break. While doing so, Arthur studied Lancelot, and could already see that he was panting. When he drew attention to himself, he noticed that he wasn't doing that well either. Exhausting themselves as quick as possible wasn't the way to go.

However, Lancelot didn't seem to think that way as he continued to push himself forward, attacking Arthur's shield as hard and as quickly as he could. Fighting back, Arthur pushed his sword in the way and started attacking Lancelot's shield as well.

"If you want to go all out from the very start, that's fine." Arthur said, "But if you continue pushing yourself so recklessly like this then King Deslin is going to be able to see through your plan. This isn't like you, so it's not going to work."

Arthur changed tactics and went for Lancelot's sword. Reflexes kicking in, Lancelot swung his sword as well and the two swords met in the air as Lancelot and Arthur pushed with all their might.

"We're going to have to make this fight last a while then." Lancelot gritted through his teeth, "We'll have to last a lot longer, even after we've exhausted ourselves."

"Breaking our limits." Arthur grinned, "That's what I like to hear."

The two stepped back again and circled each other, both reviewing their battle plan. Whilst doing so, Arthur snuck a glance in at King Deslin, who was looking slightly bored. So far, so good.

This time, Arthur stepped in first, going for Lancelot's swords. The two weapons weaved around each other as the two knights began to circle each other while fighting, sporiodically taking short breaks to catch their breath. 

Again and again they went in, yelling and grunting as one of them managed to get the better of the other as they stepped back for a break, only to go in to fight evenly matched once again. Arthur could feel his thoat burning, begging for a drink, but he ignored it. He didn't have time for that.

Finally, after he felt like King Deslin had been entertained enough, Arthur drew his attention to Lanclot's shield. Lancleot caught the glance and tightened his grip, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

Sure enough, when Arthur next went to dive in it wasn't the sword that he went for, but the shield. Lancelot was ready, however, and the clang echoed throughout the areana. Arthur contineud attacking the shield, decoating it with scratches and scars. Lancelot stepped bach for a break, but Arthur didn't yield. He pushed forward, forcing Lancelot back even more. Shouting, Arthur held his sword at an angle and swung with all his might.

The sword hit the edge of the shield, and Arthur was encouraged by the fact that he could feel it slipping out of Lancelot's grip. In his peripherals, Arthur could see Lancelot swinging his sword in protest, but he blocked his attemtps with his own shield. The two were in a lock, a struggle of strength, challenging the other to give out.

With a yell that remided Arthur briefly of the power in Merlin's Dragonlord voice, Arthur's sword came through and Lancelot's sheild flew out of his hand. Lancelot made to get it, but Arthur was to quick. He intercepted Lancelot's path and stepped in front of the shield, smirking triumphantly. Lancelot nodded back, holding his sword with two hands.

Arthur looked down at the sword and then, while looking at Lancelot, he threw his own shield to the side.

Nodding in understanding, Arthur mirrored Lancelot's position by holding his own sword with both hands. The two silently agreed that shields were now off table.

They began circling each other again, the appalsue and cheers rising in volume as the crowds realised what had just happened. Lancelot grinned.

"Having fun, are you?" Arthur was smiling himself.

"I suppose." Lancelot admitted, "I'm exhausted, though."

"Same here." Arthur swallowed, his throat burning, "So, once more with feeling?"

Lancelot laughed and met Arthur's sword in the middle, cheers erupting as the clang echoed around the arena.

The two lashed out with all their might. Now that they had two hands on their swords, their swings were even stronger. They weaved around each other once more, the cheers of the crowd pushing them onwards, their breath shaking their bodies, the strength shaking their muscles, their exhaustion shaking their legs until finally, finally, finally-

Lancelot's legs gave out and Arthur's sword was at his neck in a flash as the crowd exploded into the loudest cheer of the tournament.

Arthur quickly withdrew his sword and held out his hand. Lancelot returned the grin and accepted his hand, standing up and patting Arthur on the back.

"Prince Arthur." Came the loud voice from behind him, "I see you're in the final."

"Yes, King Deslin." Arthur answered.

King Deslin studied him, smirking, "I'm sure it'll be quite the show. You're dismissed."

As the guards led Arthur and Lancelot away, Arthur couldn't help but wonder why King Deslin had looked so confident, and why the look reminded him horribly of the sly glances that the guards had exchanged.

On the way there, Arthur and Lancelot passed Gwaine, who was being led to his tent in the match with Cinders.

"Hey there!" He called, ignoring the sharp nudge his guard gave him, "How'd it go?"

"I'm onto the final." Arthur grinned.

"That's what I like to hear!" Gwaine laughed as his guard shoved him forward, "I'll see you there!"

Arthur and Lancelot laughed as they were led back to the cells by their guards. They told the rest of the knights how it went and they cheered. Arthur allowed himself to be manhandled into his cuffs, to busy thinking about who he was going to be up against: Gwaine or Cinders.

Meanwhile, Gwaine was shoved in his tent. He scoffed, studying the stoic guard that stepped inside with him.

"So, come here often?" He waggled his eyebrows as he flirted with the guard, who remained impassive.

"Geez, tough crowd." Gwaine gave up as he went to fetch his sword shield from the rack.

After several minutes of practicing his swings and making sure he had the right sword and shield, the horn sounded through the air.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The second and final match of the third round!"

Cheers erupted around them, and Gwaine rehearsed his bows, planning out what he was going to do when he won the match.

"First, as handsome as he is graceful, Sir Gwaine!"

Gwaine stepped out with a flourish of the tent flaps, blowing kisses and giving bows, acting like he'd already won the match. He took his place, waving at the ladies who were swooning. Gwaine made a note to boast about it to the knights later.

"And secondly, a feisty, fierce fireball, please welcome... oh..."

Gwaine and the crowd looked on curiously as King Deslin approached the announcer, whispering something in his ear. A brief look of confusion passed the announcer's face before he turned back to the crowd and King Deslin returned to his seat.

"Sorry for the pause, folks, but it seems there's been a slight change. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Cinders has dropped out of the tournament."

Several murmurs of disappointment came from the crowd, but Gwaine wasn't paying attention. He was to busy focusing on the smug smirk on King Deslin's face as he stared at the knight.

"However, the king has assured us that the contestant taking her place is equally as strong!"

It took a while, but there were reluctant claps from the crowd, encouraging the new contestant to come forth.

Gwaine could do nothing but watch in horror as a young boy with black hair and blue eyes stepped into the ring, a cold, empty collar replacing the soft, warm neckerchief that Gwaine had grown accustomed to.

Gwaine could feel his eyes fill with tears as he stared at the devoid eyes in front of him that used to be brimming with happiness. He choked on a sob.

"Merlin?"


	25. A problem full of doubts

This was wrong.

Gwaine stared at the figure of Merlin that was standing just a few away from him. The imposter was standing with it's feet planted in the ground. It was slightly hunched over, as if ready for a fight. Around him, Gwaine could hear the murmur of the crowd, unsure of what to think of the new appearance. Why wasn't he in uniform? Wasn't that the servant they had seen hanging around the Camelot knights. They watched on, unsure of how to react.

Gwaine's teeth grinded together as he tried to bite back the tears that were threatening to fall. In his efforts, his gaze landed on King Deslin. He was draped around his throne, his head resting on his chin in a smug fashion. This alone caused the rage in Gwaine to flare up.

"You." Gwaine snarled, "You!"

He drew his sword to the gasps and cries of alarm that were given by the crowd. He lifted his sword up, but gave a cry when he was held back by the guards.

"You monster!" Gwaine blurted out, "I'll kill you for this, you hear me?!"

King Deslin watched the show in amusement, his smirk only growing wider. This managed to make Gwaine even more mad, swinging his sword blindly at the guards.

"He's my friend!" Gwaine shouted over the crowd, "Let him go, right now!"

"I'm sorry, I can't do that Gwaine." King Deslin's voice was so quiet and calm next to Gwaine that the knight almost didn't catch what he was saying, "The crowd want a fight, I'm giving them one."

Gwaine struggled against the guards that were restraining him.

"How the hell could you do this?" Gwaine grunted as he grappled with the guards, "He's done nothing that could be of any threat to you!"

At this, King Deslin's smug sank like a stone, turning instead to an icy snarl.

"Emrys is the most powerful sorcerer to ever live, meaning he is the most nefarious and malicious of them all." He snapped, "He may have sneaked his way into your heart without the use of enchantment, but I've seen far to much to be taken so easily. If I were to allow that monster to roam free he would level kingdoms and destroy everything in his sight. Now that he's under my control, he will do whatever I say."

"You're wrong." Gwaine shook his head, "Merlin would never do that!"

King Deslin rolled his eyes, "Either Emrys has got you under some kind of spell after all or you're just as stupid as Arthur. Either way, Emrys is under my control now, and you're going to fight him."

On cue, a wind picked up, blowing heat in Gwaines face and gaining his attention. Already knowing the cause of the wind, Gwaine turned to his friend, who's eyes were glowing gold as the wind picked up around him.

"Seems he's eager to please." King Deslin laughed, the smug smile returning at, "He's your friend, isn't he? Why don't you go over and give him what he wants?"

Gwaine shook his head, looking up at the looming figure, "I'm not fighting-"

Gwaine's next words were cut off when the wind returned, only now blowing harder and whipping wind in his face. When he turned to Merlin, Gwaine could see a snarl plastered on his face, his eyes still devoid of any kind of emotion.

Gwaine was begging now, "Please. If you want us to fight, then fine. But as least release your control on him."

King Deslin scoffed at this, "And release this monster onto thousands of innocent people? He belongs to me now, knight of Camelot, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Gwaine scowled as King Deslin lean back into his throne, their conversation now over. In desperation, Gwaine then marched over to Merlin.

"Merlin." He almost sobbed as he approached the figure, "You have to recognise me..."

Merlin stared back at him, unresponsive, the same empty look in dull eyes, the blue inside them now so dark they were almost black.

"Merlin!" Gwaine tried again, tears now streaming down his face, "Come on, you can't do this..."

In a panic, Gwaine snatched at the collar wrapped around Merlin's neck and tugged with all he had. Above all the commotion of the crowds shouting in alarm, Gwaine swore he could hear a snake hissing.

"Merlin, come on help me get this thing off-" When Gwaine looked back into Merlin's eyes, they were now burning a furious gold.

Before he knew what was happening, Gwaine was thrown off his feet and landed several feet away, in the exact spot he had stood in before Merlin had revealed himself. Panting, he got to his feet, just in time to see Merlin's eyes return to the dark blue.

Gwaine sniffed his tears back, shaking his head, not knowing what to do. He thought about Arthur, how heartbroken he and the rest of the knights would be to see Merlin like this.

"Merlin, help me." Gwaine spoke quietly, his temper haivng exhausted him, "You have to be in there? That telepathy thing maybe?"

There was nothing on Merlin's face to encourage Gwaine.

He kept trying, "I don't know what to do."

Nothing. Tears began to fall once more when the thought came to Gwaine that this monster may have taken his first and best friend.

"No." Gwaine snarled, turning towards King Deslin, "I'm not doing this."

King Deslin regarded him, "Is that so?"

Gwaine nodded, brushing matted hair out of his face, "I'm not fighting my friend."

Gasps echoed around the arena as Gwaine drew his sword and threw it to the side. King Deslin looked at the sword for a few seconds before sighing.

"So you withdraw. That was disappointing. I suppose Arthur will just have to give me a better show."

"You bastard!" Gwaine roared, "You promised Arthur that we'd get Merlin back if he won the tournament! You promised!"

"Well, that's what people do to show that they're in control." King Deslin sneered, "They break a rule."

Gwaine froze at the sound of his own words being tossed back at him. The guards took advantage of this and grabbed hold of him, dragging him back towards the castle. Gwaine screamed and kicked all the way, never once taking his eyes of Merlin. 

Once Merlin was out of his line of sight, Gwaine could feel himself calm down slightly. He stopped struggling as violently, but he was still panting from the exertion, and he could feel himself going red in the face.

His muscles trembled and his legs ached from kicking around, but he barely cared. All he could think about were those empty eyes that had once lit up so suddenly whenever Merlin smiled.

Once he had calmed down about as much as he could, Gwaine turned his thoughts to how they were going to get Merlin out of this mess. When he had tugged on that collar, he was certain that he could hear the snake that was controlling him, meaning that Percival's theory of the collars being an illusion was correct. Now they just needed to figure out how to free him.

" _Dammit._ " Gwaine thought while he was led along the hallway, " _Why is it always Merlin who ends up in danger?_ "

The other knights looked up when the cell door opened and Gwiane was led through. He let himself by cuffed by the wall, to preoccupied by his thoughts to protest otherwise.

"You don't look to great." The concern in Percival's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "I'm sorry you lost."

"So I'm up against Cinders in the final round?" Arthur muttered. It was so quiet that everyone only barely heard it, but it made Gwaine's head snap up in alarm.

"No." He shook his head, "You're not up against Cinders."

"Then you won?" Percival smiled, getting his hopes up to easily.

Gwaine shook his head again, "Afraid not."

"Gwaine, I don't understand." Elyan's voice came from the other side of the cell, "What happened?"

Gwaine bit his lip, dreading their reaction. Seeing his silence, the knights looked at each other in confusion.

"Come on, Gwaine, it can't be that bad!" Leon kicked him slightly, "Surely you can admit to be being beaten by a girl!"

"I didn't fight!" Gwaine raised his voice slightly in exasperation.

"You were disqualified?" Arthur's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"No, I-" Gwaine inhaled, wishing they'd just let him speak, "I didn't fight Cinders."

There was a silence as the knights looked at him, turning the information over in their heads.

"I don't understand." Lancelot was the first to speak, "Who did you fight instead?"

Gwaine stared at Arthur, who had the same look of anticipation on his face as the rest of his knights. Gwaine suspected that they already knew the answer, and were waiting with bated breath for him to confirm it.

After a silence that seemed like an age, Gwaine lowered his head, "Merlin."

The name hung in the air like the omen of death itself. Gwaine watched forlornly as all the colour was drained from Arthur's face.

"You mean he was forced to?" Arthur's voice was trembling, "You mean you didn't fight because neither of you wanted to?"

Gwaine shuddered as he remembered seeing the blazing gold in Merlin's eyes as the knght had been blasted back, "No. There's a collar on him. He's being controlled."

Arthur made a small noise that sounded halfway between a whine and a sob, "I'm going to have to fight him in the final?"

Gwaine nodded, but Arthur wasn't looking at him. He was staring at the other side of the cell, at a spot just above Elyan's head.

"Arthur." Came Leon's voice from next to Elyan, "We can fix this."

Arthur shook his head, tears making new marks in the grime on his face.

"Arthur." Leon snapped, trying once more to get his attention, "You know what the plan is. What happened to Merlin is devastating, I know, but we're just going to have to work around it."

Lancelot joined in, "You're going to have to fight in the tournament, that's a given, but..." Lancelot paused as he gathered his thought, "If you can manage to pinch they keys of the guards,we'll be freed and we can kill the Fomorrah and release Merlin and everyone else from it's control."

Arthur nodded slowly, still not entirely with them. The knights were still struggling with the news themselves, but that didn't matter right now. They had a prince to encourage.

"All you have to do is last long enough in the finals against Merlin so that King Deslin and his sorcerers remain distracted by the match. Before King Deslin knows what's happening, the Fomorrah will be dead." Percival explained.

"Even if it is possible, how am I going to face Merlin in battle?" Arthur asked, "He's the strongest sorcerer I've ever seen. I'm not sure I can last that long against him."

"King Deslin will be enjoying the match." Lancelot figured, "He'll use the Vixen's heart to control Merlin's magic so that he doesn't go all out and make the match longer. He's going to make you suffer by using Merlin, Sire, and he's going to make the most out of it."

Arthur sighed, his head hitting the back of the wall as he stared up at the ceiling, "This is the first time we're going to be defeating someone without Merlin's help." Arthur croaked, his throat horse, "I don't know if we can do that."

"We can." Lancelot reminded, "Merlin's depending on us, Sire. We can't back out now."

Arthur nodded again, shaking head, "That idiot always did manage to find himself in trouble, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it."

"It's a miracle we never found out about his magic before considering the amount he manages to find himself in." Gwaine muttered, making Arthur smile slightly.

Gwaine turned to him, "We'll get him back, Princess. I promise."

Arthur managed a smile at this, returning Gwaine's nod, "Not like I've seen that idiot's tricks before." Arthur said, now trying to cheer himself up, "He throws people around a bit, and that's it. A bit boring, really..."

"That snake's going to be a bit more of a problem." Elyan announced his thoughts after the knights had chuckled slightly, "I know the plan is to use Aithusa and Adelaine's magic to kill it, but we're still going to have to fight it first. If Merlin didn't manage it when he was attacked, then how are we going to fare?"

"Well, I suppose cutting of the heads would be a good place to start." Leon suggested, though he faltered when Lancelot shook his head.

"That won't work." Lancelot reasoned, "If all these servants, all these sorcerers, have snakes around their necks then Merlin would have noticed all the severed heads when he fought if. If he didn't then that must mean that the heads must grow back."

"Guess not." Leon muttered, "The heart then?"

"That could work." Gwaine nodded, "Though I thought you said only magic could kill a beast like this?"

"Then Adeliane's going to have to enchant one of your swords." Arthur told them sternly, "Under no cirumstances are you to enchant your swords with Aithusa's fire. We don't need King Deslin after anything else."

"You mean Aithusa can make magic swords?" Elyan asked.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at him, "Yes, but it's forbidden, understood? Those swords can kill both the living and the dead and are extremely dangerous. You're not to do it."

"Yes, Sire." The knights chorused. Aithusa, who had been prowling around the cage, straightened at the mention of her name. She could sense the energy in the room, and she knew that something was wrong. That something big was coming. She shook herself slighly and stretched. Gwaine chuckled at her.

"Looks like we're not the only one raring to go." Gwaine smirked, "You ready to claw out some eyes, little lady?"

Aithusa chirruped happily. Leon scowled at him, "We're not teaching the baby dragon to kill, Gwaine. We're going to teach her how to fight back."

"I say the minute that guard comes through the door to collect Arthur, we sick Aithusa on them." Gwaine snickered at the image, "Their fault for not chaining her up."

"The reason they didn't chain her up is because she's harmless without Merlin's orders." Leon corrected him, "Which means she's not going to listen to us."

"She might listen to Arthur, he reeks of Merlin." Gwaine smirked.

"I do not!" Arthur protested as Aithusa rubbed her head against the arm that the neckerchief was tied to.

"Apart from killing the Fomorrah, we're only going to use Aithusa as a backup plan since she's unreliable." Leon said sternly, years of leadership gaining him their attention immediatly, "We need to teach her how to fight back if she's going to become useful in the future."

"Teach her?" Gwaine scoffed, "You talk about her like she's some pet, not a dragon. What are you going to do, teach her to shake? Roll over? Lift up her little pinky claw-"

"Enough, Gwaine." Leon snarled, "I know you're upset about Merlin, but you need to calm down, otherwise you're not going to be of help to anybody. In fact-"

Leon went quiet immediately as footsteps sounded down the corridor, getting louder and louder until they arrived at their cell.

"You." Gwaine snarled as King Deslin appeared in front of them, "What do you want?"

"Nothing much. I'll leave the gloating until after Merlin's killed Arthur."

At the mention of his name, Arthur turned towards him, "He wouldn't. Not Merlin."

King Deslin scoffed, "Oh, he would. It doesn't matter if he really did care for you in the past, he's in my control now. Which means he does as I want."

"Then why?" Arthur shook his head, "Why do you want to kill me?"

"To break Uther even further." King Deslin answered simply, "I'm sorry, Arthur, I tuly have nothing against you. From what I've seen you're a fine young man. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for your father. Myself and Uther were quite close friends in the past, but when Ygraine died he threw me away like he did everyone else, only to grow into an arrogant old tyrant."

"A bit like you, then?" Arthur snarled. King Deslin shot him a sharp smile that never quite reached his eyes. Upon looking, Gwaine thought they looked just as dead as Merlin's.

"I don't control the sorcerers to reign supreme over my kingdom." King Deslin explained, "I control them to keep the peace. If sorcerers had their way there would be nothing left. I control them so that they don't level my kingdom. As for your father, I want to see him crushed, just like he was when Morgana betrayed him. When your corpse shows up on Camelot's doorstep, it'll finish him off for good."

"He's already gone." Arthur admitted more to himself, "He's already a husk of his former self. He's already broken. Why?"

King Deslin smirked, "Why not? I have the most powerful sorcerer in existence in my control. First, I'll have Merlin kill everyone he's ever loved, then I'll go to Camelot and make him destroy the entire kingdom. Then I'll take control of every single sorcerer in existence so they can never cause anybody any harm ever again."

Arthur shook his head, tears falling down his cheeks, "Merlin would never do that."

"I disagree. He's more corrupt than any of them. He's more of a monster than Uther will ever be. He may have made you fall in love with his smile, but I'm going to make sure that it doesn't happen to anyone else ever again."

"He's not-"

"Say goodbye to your knights, Arthur." King Deslin snarled, cutting off Arthur's feeble protests, "Tomorrow id hte day you're going to get killed by your serving boy."

The knights watched, all staring in utter hatred, as King Deslin turned to leave their cell, his footsteps fading in the distance.


	26. A plan full of duels

The knights tried as hard as they could to get some sleep that night, but it proved to be next to futile. They managed to get a few minutes in, but they were then jolted awake by the worries and doubts that plagued them. They all breathed a sigh if relief when the door opened, but then again this also meant that their plan was finally underway.

Arthur scowled at the guard as he bend down to uncuff him, the knights eyeing the keys that dangled from his belt hungrily. As soon as the guard had freed Arthur, the prince immediately pushed him away.

"Let me go!" Arthur staged, struggling out of the man's grip.

The scuffle soon turned into a fight. Arthur threw an uppercut punch and dazed the guard temporarily. For the split second he was seeing stars, Arthur swiftly took the keys off the belt and chucked them in Aithusa's direction.

Understanding, Aithusa promptly sat on them, flapping her wings slightly to further hide them from view.

While making sure that the dragon had successfully hid the keys, Arthur was momentarily distracted from the guard. This caused him to be taken by surprise as the guard had recovered and was now grabbing hold of him. With the first step of the plan accomplished, Arthur let himself be re-cuffed and dragged away towards his match, quickly throwing a triumphant glance over his shoulder.

When they were sure that the footsteps had faded into the distance, Lancelot gently nudged Aithusa with his foot. Aithusa turned to him, the keys now dangling in her mouth, and cocked her head inquisitively.

"That's it." Lancelot waved his hands around to draw attention to the cuffs.

Giving a little chirrup to show that she understood, Aithusa leapt onto Lancelot and scaled up his arms. After feeling around for the keys a little bit, Lancelot managed to take them off Aithusa, select a random key and wiggle it in the lock.

It took a few tries, but eventually he got a match and his handcuffs clicked open. Not wasting a second, Lancelot was onto Percival, unlocking his handcuffs.

"How did Aithusa understand you?" Percival asked as Lancelot was unlocking the cuffs.

"I spent a lot of time around Merlin when his magic was being kept a secret." Lancelot smiled as Percival's cuffs clicked undone, "Turned out he couldn't keep a baby a secret for that long. Aithusa and I are old friends, aren't we, kid?"

Aithusa made a happy noise as Lancelot moved onto Gwaine's cuffs.

Soon enough, all five knights and baby dragon were ready to go. With Aithusa perched on Lancelot's shoulder, the five bundled out of their cell and paused, discussing the next phase.

"Alright, most likely two or more guards on duty at the dungeon door." Leon muttered, "And the guard we took the keys from will soon know that they're missing, so the warning bell will go off any minute now. Our main objective is swords and shields. Knock out any guard that we come across, knock them out and take their weapons. Understood?"

Four nods and a small flap of wings. With that they were off, treading lightly down the dingy corridor so that they didn't alert the guards on the other side of the door.

With the element of surprise at their disposal, Leon and Gwaine nodded at each other and snuck forward. Leon held up his hand and counted to three with his fingers. When three were up, the two knights burst out of the door, saw the guards and elbowed them as hard as they could in the nose, punching them afterwards to be sure.

"Two down," Gwaine said as he pinched the sword and shield off the guard, "Three to go."

Leon nodded, his own sword and shield clutched safely in hand as the other knights joined them. Suddenly, they all looked in alarm as the warning bell echoed around the hallways, shouts and alarms from the guards alerting them off the intruders.

"We need to get to the physician's chambers for Adelaine and the Fomorrah's antidote! " Leon announced over the noise, "I'll lead the way, Elyan, you lead the rear, let's try to stay as close together as we can do that none of us have to fight our own battles. Okay, let's go!"

With that, they took off, sprinting down the hallway. Leon turned a corner and carried on, the knights hurrying after him, all five off them keeping a look out for any guards. During one of Elyan's occasional glances back, he cried out in alarm as he saw a guard swinging a sword at him.

Reflexes flaring up, he sidestepped the swing of the sword and grabbed his hand. While the guard was tugging to get free, Elyan punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.

"Good job Elyan!" Gwaine cheered as the continued onwards, "Let's hope Cinders isn't lurking around, eh?"

"Shut up!"

With three knights now in possession of a sword, they continued onward, Leon Gwaine and Elyan on the outskirts of their circle while Percival and Lancelot stayed in the middle, keeping an eye out for any guards.

They charged through the hallways. What with all the guards that had shown up, it wasn't long before Percival and Lancelot had a sword and shield to call their own. Leaving a litter of unconscious bodies behind him, the knights finally made it to the physician's chambers and Leon performed a knock that they had agreed on beforehand.

"Took you long enough!" Adelaine hissed as they snuck inside, "Now, this way, quickly! We haven't a moment to loose!"

The knights flooded inside the room, standing against the door in case any guard decided to storm the place. Adelaine walked up to the cauldron that was now sitting on her desk. 

It was bubbling a complete shade of black, with several small bottles filled with the stuff already lined our before them.

"It's been boiling for a few hours now so it should be good to go." Adelaine panted as she bustled around the room, "You lot, grab a rag and soak it in the stuff, then go take them and rub the antidote on any collar that you can find. It'll paralyse the snakes around their necks for a day, enough to persuade them to get their own back on King Deslin."

"Will do." Percival muttered as he grabbed a cloth on the table and plunged it in the cauldron.

"I also prepared some vials in case your cloth ran out." Adelaine reminded, "Be sure to take them."

"Yes, miss. Lancelot said as he handed a few out to each of them, who all pocketed them in their belts.

Finally, with the four knights ready and armed with antidote, Leon stood before them.

"You need to get to the illusion wall that Merlin told you about." He clarified, acting like this was a usual mission debriefing, "Since this castle's architecture is so similar to Camelot's, you'll know the illusion to be where the Great Dragon's cave is. To make sure that you don't get caught, you'll be splitting off into two groups. Take different paths to get to the caves, rub the antidote on as many collars as you can and meet me and Adelaine there. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Came the reply.

With that, all four knights filed out of the room and went there different ways, Lancelot and Elyan taking one route and Gwaine and Percival took another. After Leon had watched them go, he turned back to Adelaine.

"It won't be long before they start searching my chambers." Adelaine hissed at him as she opened the door to her storeroom, "We need to get a move on, now!"

Baffled Leon followed her into the storeroom and watched as Adelaine removed a large tapestry from the wall. Then, she placed a hand in the very centre.

" **Datgelu** "

Leon gasped as the wall cleared away, leaving a door in it's place. Adelaine opened and stepped through, looking up when Leon didn't follow."

"Well, come on!" She hissed, waving her hand, signalling for him to follow her.

"That's the same spell that King Deslin's using, right?" Leon asked, "For the illusion wall?"

"Right." Adelaine confirmed as she ushered Leon inside. With a wave of her hand, Leon imagined the wall reappearing again on the other side of the door, "When studying healing magic, it's compulsory that you learn about illusory magic as well. There are times when a knight's would is so bad that healers use illusions to make it look better than it is."

"And yet you chose to do this with it?" Leon asked, uncomfortable with the fact that they were making their way down a passage with no light.

"King Deslin asked me to make this passage. With the amount of times he got snake venom in his veins and had to come to me, the rest of the castle would become suspicious. So he had a secret passageway made."

"King Deslin knows about this?" Leon asked, turning back and half-expecting guards to come storming in behind them.

"Yes, but not the guards." Adelaine chuckled, "What with the match on, it'll be a while before King Deslin tells them about it. Still, we'd better get a move on. **Leot.**

Leon couldn't help but give a gasp of surprise as a shining ball of light materialised out of nowhere, giving off a vague sense of safety and warmth.

"Let's go." He nodded.

Meanwhile, Percival gave a grunt as yet another guard fell to the floor with a thud.

"That makes five." Gwaine remarked, "That has to be a new record."

"Because knocking down guards while invading an enemy castle is a favourite pastime of mine." Percival deadpanned as the two carried onwards.

Gwaine was leading the two of them, much to Percival's horror, as he had been down to the Dragon's cave the most in all of his drunken adventures. The two continued onwards, knocking out the guards that would stumble upon them in the hallway.

As soon as they were roughly halfway there, however, flames sprung up out of nowhere. Gwaine froze in his tracks, so suddenly that Percival very nearly crashed into him. They both turned and, sure enough, saw Byrne standing there, her empty eyes giving away King Deslin's control.

"She's under his control?" Percival asked, "But what about Merlin?"

"Seems he can control multiple people at once!" Gwaine groaned.

" **Baerne!**

Gwaine and Percival stepped to the side as a fire sprung between the two dividing them.

Gwaine, eager to get this over with, charged immediately, sword swinging at the sorcerer. She sidestepped the swing, pushing her shield towards it. Gwaine saw the shield and swung at it some more, having learnt from Arthur's match that she didn't have the best strength. 

Percival caught on to what he was doing and joined him, his strength making Gwaine's mission all the more easier. While Percival distracted her, Gwaine withdrew his rag and reached towards her collar.

" **Astrice**

Another voice called out and Gwaine was flung backwards. He gave a small grunt as he slammed into the wall. Shaking the spots from his vision, he opened his eyes to see the hazy figure of Aiken standing over him.

"Hi there." Gwaine coughed out as he rubbed his head, "I don't think we've met."

Aiken's eyes burned gold and the spell was repeated again. Gwaine gave a cry as crushing winds suddenly forced him to the floor, images flashing through his mind of the same thing happening back in the throne room.

"Oh, I remember now." Gwaine gritted out, "You're the guy I don't like."

"Gwaine!" the knight could hear Percival shouting his name, but flames sprang up somewhere further down the hallway, meaning that Percival was preoccupied.

Sure enough, Percival gritted his teeth in frustration. He knew that if he could just get to her shield, then he'd be strong enough to knock it out of her hand. However, it was easier said than done.

" **Ligfyr!** "

Another wall of fire spread between the two as Byrne increased their distance. She was playing it safe, knowing that she wouldn't be able to compare if they were to fight up close. Percival waved impatiently at the wall of flames with his sword, but it was no use. He went through there, and he'd be burnt horribly. Instead, he sat back and waited.

"In your own time, then." He gritted out, nodding at Bryne.

Eventually the wall came down and Percival had just enough time to see the fireball that was forming in Byrne's hand.

" **Forbarene Ackwele!** "

He ducked as the fireball soared overhead, but he didn't stay on the ground long. Using the smoke to his advantage, he prowled towards Byrne and then immediately leapt out of the smoke, smacking her shield with all he had.

Taken by surprise, Byrne gave a yelp as the shield very nearly went flying out of her hand, but Percival was ready. He hacked at the shield again and again, until, after three or do swings, it dropped out of Byrne's hands. Not waiting for Byrne to cast another fire spell, Percival grabbed the shield and chucked it into the wall of flames that were keeping him and Gwaine from running away.

When he turned back to face her, Percival gasped in shock to find three smaller fireballs rolling around in her palms. Shouting, she tried the spell again:

" **Forbaerne Tri-Ackwele!**

The three fireballs waved around the hall, all taking a different path. Percival backed up a little, tensing as the fireballs dived into the smoke. He cast a glance at Byrne, but decided that she wasn't the main threat right now. However...

Planning to the lure the fireballs out, Percival charged at Byrne and, almost immediately, a fireball came diving out of the smoke to his right. Percival swatted it with his sword, slamming it into the wall and discorporating it.

The next one came from above and caught him by surprise. With a yelp, Percival tried leaping to the side, but it was to late. His cape went up in flames, and Percival had no choice but to cut the fastenings with his sword, abandoning the cape and leaving it to burn.

The final fireball came from behind Byrne and straight towards him. Percival stood his ground and, having learnt the trick from Elyan, swatted the fireball right back at Byrne, who now had no means to defend herself.

She ducked, but Percival was already there to meet her. He grabbed the rag that was dangling from his belt and rubbed it on her collar. A snake hissed over the spats of the fire, and Percival grinned as Byrne blinked in confusion and looked around. When she saw Percival, she stared at him expectantly.

"Help us." He said. Byrne didn't need anymore persuasion.

Aiken had increased the strength of the winds that were trapping Gwaine, staring down at him, unblinking, his eyes burning as brightly as Byrne's flames.

His concentration was broken when Percival ran into him and tackled him to the ground.

Having dealt with him before, Percival took advantage of the element of surprise and immediately snatched the shield off him. He didn't dare throw it into the fire however, knowing that Aiken would just manipulate it into whizzing back if he did.

"Byrne!" He shouted instead. Nodding, the sorcerer's eyes flared gold when she looked at the shield and Percival gasped when it burst into flames.

Gwaine picked himself up from the ground and stumbled for a little bit, confused and disorientated.

"Gwaine!" Percival's call made him look over to see him restraining Aiken, "You're going to have to rub your antidote on him, Byrne's flames have made mine dry out.

Giving a quick nod and shaking his head to clear it of a faint whining noise, Gwaine took out his rag and rubbed it over Aiken's collar.

Immediately, Aiken's struggling figure went slack, and the two knights grinned at each other as Percival let the young sorcerer go.

"What happened?" He said in a daze, joining Byrne.

"We don't have time to explain." Gwaine said, "But here. Take these rags and douse them in these bottles. Then, rub them on the collars of as many sorcerers as you can. It'll free them off King Deslin's mind control."

The two knights handed the necessary items to the two sorcerers and watched them run off.

"Wait, Byrne!" Gwaine shouted. Byrne stopped and looked back.

"See if you can give your rug to Arthur!" Gwaine called. Byrne smiled and nodded, the flames that were blocking their path dying down. The two knights watched her go before turning to the path ahead.

"Right." Percival sighed, sweeping himself clean of imaginary dust, "Onwards."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, Lancelot, Aithusa and Elyan were making there way forwards.

Elyan had agreed to let Lancelot lead the way while he kept an eye out for any guards. They had come across a few, but none that were any challenge.

"Are we almost there?" Elyan called as he elbowed a guard in the nose.

"Almost!" Came Lancelot's reply as he tried to remember which way to go as they hit a fork.

Elyan gave a sigh as the guard hit the ground, allowing himself to relax for a second.

However, this proved to be a mistake as he saw a flash in the corner of his eye. He looked up and held his shield to his chest, drawing his sword. It wasn't big enough to be a person. And that meant...

Elyan gave a grunt as he swatted at the flaming dagger with his shield, "Lancelot!"

"What is it?" Lancelot called, jogging over. Aithusa cocked her head in alarm.

Elyan nodded in the direction that the dagger had come from, "Cinders."

Lancelot's face turned grim in understanding, "Let's stand back to back. That way the dagger can't surprise us."

The two did so, swords drawn and shields ready, Aithusa growling slightly. It wasn't long before the dagger came back, though this time in Lancelot's direction. He blocked the dagger with his shield, and then gasped in surprise as it burst into flames.

Lancelot hacked it off his shield with his own sword and then patted down the flames on his shield as the dagger whizzed back to it's master, only now it didn't have far to go. 

Cinders now stepped into view, her eyes as cold and empty as they were when she had faced Elyan.

"Elyan." Lancelot spoke up, "She's here."

"Could you turn around?" The knight asked, "I want to fight against her."

Lancelot nodded and the two shuffled slightly, Elyan facing Cinders and Lancelot facing an empty hallway on the lookout for guards.

"Thank you." Elyan smiled as he got into position. "Now..."

Cinders' dagger sprung into action, but Elyan was ready. He flicked at it with his sword, sending it careening back into a wall. The dagger recovered quickly though, and was soon back to attacking Elyan.

Cinders eyes burned gold with the effort of controlling the dagger, and Elyan was thankful that she couldn't cast another spell while manipulating it. The relief was cut short when Lancelot gave a cry and was shoved into Elyan's back, Aithusa squawking in protest.

"What's wrong?" Elyan called, refusing to take his eyes of Cinders' dagger.

"Boar!" Lancelot replied, "He just showed up out of nowhere!"

Sure enough, Elyan could now hear Boar yelling as his and Lancelot's swords echoed down the hallway. Elyan tried to shove the thoughts out of his head, trying his best to focus on he match in front of him.

He tried walking up to Cinders to attack her head on, but it was no use. The dagger was guarding her at all times, blocking Elyan's sword whenever he tried to take a swing at her.

"This isn't working!" Elyan called in frustration, "How are you doing?"

"Not good!" Lancelot shouted as his hand ached with the effort of keeping Boar back.

"I've got an idea!" Elyan said as he swatted at Cinders' dagger, "Want to hear it?"

"Go ahead, I'm all yours!" Lancelot panted back.

"Ready..." Elyan muttered to himself, swinging back and forth with Cinders' dagger. Then, when it hit his shield, he flung it, sending the dagger flying back, "Switch!"

Elyan spun around to meet Boar's sword, and Lancelot, with a bit more of a clumsy manoeuvre, managed to get into position just in time to block the dagger.

Elyan was on Boar in a second, taking advantage of the element of surprise. He swung again and again at Boar's sword, knowing thanks to years of blacksmith tutelage where the grip would be the weakest on the handle.

Not wasting a second, Elyan swung his sword there, grinning when the sword went flying out of Boar's hands. Grabbing his hand so that he wouldn't try and run away, Elyan immediately grabbed his cloth and lunged for the collar around Boar's neck.

He sighed in relief when Boar blinked in confusion, and then snarled as he snatched his hand back from Elyan's grip.

"Little help here!" Lancelot said, struggling with the dagger.

"On it!" Elyan rushed in to help, though the dagger was on him in a second. When Lancelot edged forward towards Cinders, the dagger changed it's mind and went soaring over to Lancelot.

Elyan couldn't help but smile at the look of horror on Cinders' face when she realised that the two were getting closer. However, with the dagger in play, she wasn't able to move away and, as Elyan dealt with the dagger, Lancelot was on her in a second.

Cinders shook her head, blinking as if just waking up, and sent her dagger back into it's sheath.

"Take these." Elyan panted, not bothering to explain things to her, "Take the rags and cover them in the antidote, then rub them on as many sorcerers' collars as you can. This will allow you to free them from their control and take down King Deslin."

Cinders nodded vaguely, still not quite sure what was going on, before running off with the rag in hand. Elyan watched as Lancelot explained the exact same thing to Boar. He handed over his rag and the two watched as Boar sauntered off in the opposite direction.

"Think they'll be okay?" Lancelot asked as they watched Boar's retreating figure.

"They'll be fine." Elyan decided as the two pushed forwards, "For now, we've got work to do."


	27. A coin full of two halves

Arthur dropped the act more or less the minute he was escorted out of the cells by the guards, adding the occasional tug as to not avoid suspicion. The first part had been frightfully easy, through Arthur had expected that. It was the rest of the plan that was going to be a challenge.

With just a few turns left before the exited the castle, Arthur tried his best to hide the smile on his face when the chimes of the warning bell suddenly rang out around the walls of the palace, sending the guards into action.

Whilst the guards that were with Arthur didn't react much to the bells expect throw suspicious glances at him, Arthur could now see the occasional group of guards running past him, shouting orders at one another.

Arthur let the guards tug him onwards, knowing that the knights could take care of themselves. For the last few minutes of the journey, the dread that had been festering in the pit of his stomach grew and gnawed at his heart as Arthur wondered just how on earth he was going to fight Merlin, let alone leave enough time for the knights to defeat the Fomorrah.

He went over every single fight with a sorcerer he had ever had, a vague recollection of spells being repeated in his mind. He had hoped that Merlin would be clumsy, and that he would make a mistake during the fight that could be taken advantage of, but then again Arthur knew that it was more or less an act. With something now controlling Merlin, Arthur wasn't sure how good a fighter Merlin would be.

After several minutes of wallowing in his thoughts, the guards dumped him in the tent.

"Five minutes." The one that had stepped in the tent with him said, "If you try anything you can watch Merlin get hurt for yourself."

He smirked cruelly at the glare that Arthur gave him, but more or less stayed quiet after that. Arthur tried to push all doubts from his mind, selecting his sword and shield from the rack and stretching, trying desperately to pretend that this was just going to be like every other match.

He succeeded for a few seconds until thoughts of Merlin preparing in the other tent came rushing to him, and he had half a mind to run out of his tent and try his hand at tugging the collar of himself.

He managed to keep his composure under control though, but that didn't stop the plunge of worry that his heart took when the horn sounded through the air for the final time.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer called as if nothing was wrong, "The moment you've all been waiting for! The final match of the tournament!"

Cheers that were the loudest yet rose up immediately, and Arthur felt his grip on his sword tighten. He made a note of the anger, but tried his best to store it away. No matter how bad the situation, no matter how hard the fight, he couldn't direct his anger at Merlin. He'd done that far to many times already.

"First up! King Deslin's latest recruit, Merlin!"

The cheers were making Arthur confused. Why were they so supportive? Why were they so happy?

"And finally, noble knight of Camelot, Prince Arthur!"

Arthur stormed out of the tent, and there he was, eyes so empty and devoid of emotion that he may as well have been staring at a blank wall. Some naïve part of Arthur had ridiculously hoped that the second that Merlin had laid eyes on Arthur then the smile would immediately return to his face, and his eyes would fill with determination as they  
quickly made a plan to take King Deslin down.

That didn't happen. The smile was gone, and that made Arthur angrier than he had ever been.

"Begin!"

Arthur barely had time to lift his sword before he was bombarded by a spell he had never seen before.

Tiny needles, what appeared to be rose thorns, materialised around Merlin and charged towards Arthur. Reflexes kicking in, Arthur held up his shield and waiting for the small thorns to embed themselves in the dragon emblem on the front. When the pattering had stopped, Arthur looked up to see Merlin's eyes burning gold once more.

He braced himself for attack, but when none came he felt a pounding sense of dread when he saw Merlin looking at his shield. He gave a cry of alarm as small string-like vines burst out of the tiny thorns and latched themselves into the ground. Arthur tried tugging at his shield, but it was no use.

"Forbeanan Ackwele!"

Recognising the spell, Arthur looked up to see a fireball far to big to block racing towards him, and Arthur knew he had no choice but to abandon his shield and roll away.  
When he looked up, his face fell as he saw the last of his shield die in a wisp of embers.

Barely a minute into the match and his shield had already been destroyed.

Gripping Excalibur, Arthur straightened and stared right into Merlin's eyes, which were staring straight back, only not at him.

After two consecutive spells, Arthur knew that this was his chance to attack, but he also knew that King Deslin had intentionally chosen not to give Merlin a shield. He couldn't attack Merlin when he didn't have a shield. He didn't care how powerful he was.

After the few empty seconds had passed, Merlin was back in top form while Arthur tried to not to look afraid.

He tensed as Merlin's eyes glowed gold once more.

"Cume her fyrbryne!"

Arthur leapt out of the way long before it swept past him, having faced the spell during his battle with Byrne.

When he turned to Merlin again, he was just in time to see his eyes flare gold again before he remembered the fire wall rushing up to meet him, and got out of the way again before he could be tricked.

However, that didn't happen.

The line of fire that had passed Arthur and was now racing towards the crowd stopped and split in two, now charging at breakneck speeds towards Arthur from different directions.

With only a second to act, Arthur scrambled out of the way, though his alarm caused him to butch the timing of the jump and land in a heap in front of Merlin, who regarded him coldly, his eyes blazing gold as the two lines of fire met behind Arthur and spread to form a circle around the prince and Merlin. Arthur looked at it cautiously.

If there was any chance of escape before, it was a thing of the past now.

Arthur cast a glance at Merlin, who looked so impassive instead of the flurry of emotions that were usually on Merlin's face that it made Arthur want to cry.

So he did.

Fortunately for Arthur, the heat from the flames was causing them to dry more or less after they leaked out, but he barely noticed. It was all he could do to stare at the man that had helped him grow, not just as a prince, but as a man.

Arthur gritted his teeth, his decision final. With his shield gone and his sword useless, there was only one more thing he could do.

Casting a quick glance at the very sword that Merlin had led him to, Arthur threw it outside of the flames, scoffing at the scandalous gasps of the crowd.

Not caring about King Deslin, not caring about the knights, not caring about the crowd, Arthur did the one thing he had wanted to do the minute he stood into the ring.

He hugged Merlin.

After all the manhandling and bickering that Arthur had initiated between the two, it was the first time that Arthur had ever pulled him into a hug, and he regretted it the minute he buried his head in Merlin's neck.

"Please." Was all he said. Please let me be more kind. Please let me be more open. Please let me be a better friend.

And if the flames that surrounded them flickered a little, Arthur didn't notice.

Arthur was more than happy to stay then for as long as he needed to, but the hole in his heart was noticing that Merlin wasn't returning the hug, and that Merlin had been tense the entire time Arthur had his arms wrapped around him.

In what seemed like a second, Merlin's eyes glowed gold and Arthur was on the ground, sand flying up everywhere. Arthur thought he saw the lines in Merlin's face become accentuated in the firelight, showing the slight trace of anger in Merlin's features.

Arthur tried taking a breath since the wind had gotten knocked out of him, but found himself coughing and spluttering at the amount of smoke that he was inhaling. Why was it so hot?

When Arthur looked at the flames, he noticed with horror that they were closer than they were before.

He turned to look at the flames behind Merlin and, sure enough, the flames were closing in behind Merlin as well.

"Merlin." Arthur choked out. Arthur knew that the flames wouldn't hurt Merlin thanks to their little study session before Byrne's match. However, Arthur found himself stepping back as the flames spat at him.

"Merlin." Arthur croaked, "Merlin, you idiot, you have to be in there."

Merlin just continued to stare at him, something that Arthur's brain was interpreting as hatred flickering in the firelight on Merlin's face.

"Merlin, I don't want to fight you!"

The flames were getting closer now. Arthur stepped forward, grabbing Merlin by the sides and shaking him slightly.

"Wake up!"

Arthur slapped him. Nothing.

He was coughing even more now, casting glances behind him of the flames that were sneaking closer. Arthur would have to ditch his cape soon, but he didn't care about that, "Merlin, you made a promise to me, remember?"

His eyes weren't even staring at him anymore.

"You promised me that you'd always protect me, no matter from what or from who!"

Arthur tried wafting at the flames a little with his cape, but it didn't work.

"You never said anything about being stupid enough to put me in danger yourself! Idiot!"

Merlin was shaking slightly and there was sweat pouring down his face. Arthur wondered if maybe he could feel the heat coming off his magic anyway.

"Come on." Arthur begged as he took his cape off and threw it outside the ring, "Come on!"

Nothing. Arthur's breathing picked up. He tried peeling his eyes away from the flames that were inches away from his feet but he couldn't take his eyes of them, "Merlin!"

Arthur's eyes squeezed shut, expecting a cacophony of flames to swallow him whole just like he'd seen done to thousands of sorcerers, but it never came.

When Arthur had finally gathered up the courage to open his eyes, he stared in amazement as the flames closed around them as much as they could, leaving Merlin and Arthur standing harmlessly in them together. After Arthur had gotten over his initial shock, he looked at Merlin, who he noticed was shaking more and more by the second.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked, quickly casting the flames from his mind as he tried desperately to search for any emotion in the sorcerer's eyes. There was nothing , but there was more than enough in Merlin's body to encourage Arthur.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked again, rubbing his hands up and down his servant's arms, "Talk to me."

The flames died down around them, but Arthur barely noticed.

"You never shut up most days. Come on, Merlin." Arthur searched his eyes again, and tricked himself into thinking there was a hint of recognition there.

"That's it." Arthur smiled, "You know, I think that might be the first time you've obeyed an order-"

"Astrice!"

Taken by surprise, Arthur was launched back, almost to the edge of the ring. No shield, no cape, no sword. As he was getting up, Arthur could have sworn he had seen King Deslin's eyes flashing gold.

Whatever had been betraying Merlin's doubts beforehand were gone now. Merlin stood just as stoic as he had when he had first entered the arena. His breathing was a bit more laboured now though, most likely due to all the smoke.

Out of old habits, the very first thing Arthur did was locate his sword, which was lying several metres away from him. Arthur made a run towards it, but a harsh wind froze him in his tracks, threatening to blow him over.

"Arthur!" In one small second, Arthur had thought that the voice was coming from Merlin, but the vacant expression on his face told him otherwise.

"Arthur!" The call came again. Arthur turned around to see Byrne leaning against the barrier in the stands, clutching a rag.

"Byrne!" Arthur rushed to meet her, "What are you doing here?"

"Doesn't matter, he's preparing something!" She cast a glance at Merlin, "This holds the antidote, rub it on his collar the second you get a chance to."

Arthur nodded, snatched the rag and was about to run off when Byrne called back, "Wait!"

Arthur paused, noticing what looked like lightning crackling in Merlin's hand.

"Take these bottles as a backup." Byrne quickly handed them to him, "Okay, now go!"

Arthur stuffed the bottles in little hoops inside his belt before he turned to Merlin, just in time to dodge the streak of lightning that hit the barrier where Byrne had been seconds before, sending the crowd crying out in alarm.

Arthur didn't have time to recover, however, as another lightning bolt came hurtling towards him the second he looked up. He managed a sloppy duck before running, several more lighting bolts following him in quick succession, Arthur ducking and diving to avoid them all.

With his armour singed and some of his skin burnt, Arthur paused when Merlin did, waiting for the sorcerer to catch his breath. The opportunity to run for his sword didn't even occur to him. Instead, he clutched the rag and surged forward.

Merlin, eyes blazing like an inferno, cast his hand upwards, a deep and rumbling voice, much like the one Arthur had heard when he had summoned Aithusa, came out of him as the Earth shook around them.

Arthur watched in a mix of amazement and horror as thunderclouds rolled in out of nowhere, lighting racing across the sky. Once he had gotten over his initial shock, Arthur took hold of his rag once more and tried walking towards Merlin.

However, Merlin saw this and Arthur watched as he snapped his fingers with the hand that wasn't pointed towards the sky. As soon as the fingers had snapped, Arthur felt a gust of wind to strong to ignore, and he was blown back to the same spot he had started from.

A prince, swatted away like a common housefly by his very own servant. Arthur wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it sounded.

He picked himself up and dusted himself off, watching helplessly as the thunderclouds now completely blanketed the sky, sending the whole world plunging into darkness, the only source of light being Merlin's lightning streaking across the sky.

Arthur refused to take his eyes off it, his heart tightening in fear every time thunder rumbled. Sure enough, the lightning started picking up after a few seconds and when Arthur forced himself to look down, the only light he could see were the two pinprick cat-like golden eyes that were staring right at him.

Suddenly aware of what was going to happen, Arthur ran, tugging his armour off as he went. He undid the straps with expert ease as ran around the arena, watching the lightning in the sky following him in the occasional streak.

Panting, he stopped for a while to yank off his shoulder pads, throwing them to ground before getting as far away from them as possible. While the lightning lingered on the metal for a bit, Arthur was still covered in the stuff, and so it wasn't very long before Arthur was on the run again.

He was now tugging at his breastplate, hoping that, since there was more metal in it, the lighting would be distracted by it more. Arthur took the breastplate off and threw it as best as he could in the direction of the shoulder pads, and gave a cry of alarm as lighting flared down without warning.

The breast plate had seemed to do the trick, and the lightning targeted the pieces of metal like a hawk, slamming down onto the pieces of armour that were several metres away from Arthur. Over the shouts of the crowd, Arthur could hear Merlin shouting up at the sky, and Arthur had a horrible feeling it was telling the lightning it had made a mistake.

"He's commanding nature itself." Arthur thought as he sat down. Using every second he had, Arthur tugged of the boots and threw them aside. Just as Arthur had finished taking off his kneepads, the final piece of armour, Arthur finally tossed them aside and continued running in bare feet and the breeches and red shirt he had worn underneath the armour.

However, as he continued running, he realised with dread that the lightning was finally obeying Merlin's orders, metal be damned. In a split-second decision, Arthur ran towards Merlin, thinking that he wouldn't be able to call down the lightning if it was to close.

When he approached, he grabbed onto Merlin and held on, not wanting to be blown back by the wind.

No shield. No cape. No sword. No armour. Arthur panted as he held onto the rag he'd been clutching for a while.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled over the thunder, "Here!"

When Arthur held the rag up towards Merlin's collar, Merlin snarled and stepped back.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted, "Please!"

Merlin shot a quick glance at the sky and the heavens opened immediately, drenching the rag.

No. No, no, no, it'll wash off-

Arthur tried desperately to approach Merlin, but another snap off his fingers and Arthur was sent hurtling towards his breastplate, where his belt lay waiting. While Merlin was busy looking at the sky, Arthur snuck the belt and the vials full of antidote around his waist as the rain finally came to a stop.

Arthur and Merlin stood apart from each other, panting, both of them winded and out of breath. Lighting lay in wait, flaring occasionally in the clouds, but Arthur paid it no attention.

No shield. No cape. No sword. No armour. No rag. All that Arthur had left was the flimsy little neckerchief that was still tied around his arm.

Arthur took a step towards him, but the wind that immediately picked up as he did so should have been enough warning to stop. Arthur didn't.

He carried on, the wind getting stronger and stronger with every step. Soon enough, Arthur was hunched over as winds whipped around him in different directions, picking up the sand from the arena floor and tossing it into his eyes. When Arthur next looked up, he could see that the thunderclouds and lightning were gone in favour of this next attack.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted over the roaring of the wind. He couldn't see anything. The winds had now become a sandstorm, and had brought up a storm cloud so thick that Arthur could barely see his servant.

"Merlin?" He called again. He looked in every direction, finally pausing when he saw two tiny pricks of golden light in what had to be the centre of the arena.

Every step a battle against the raging winds, Arthur stumbled towards his servant, a blurry silhouette all he could make in the sand. He coughed and spluttered, spitting out the sand that had managed to get in his ears, nose and mouth.

"Merlin!" He was getting closer, "I know you can hear me!"

There was nothing. Arthur thumbed the little glass vials in his belt to make sure that they were still there, "Answer me! Please!"

His silhouette was getting closer now, but there was no signs of Merlin letting up. Arthur was forced to stop for a little as the winds became too strong to bear. When it was safe to continue, he did, never once taking his eyes of his servant.

"You can fight this Merlin!" Arthur called, "You can fight this just as I have!"

The winds died down slightly and Arthur struggled onwards, taking the brief falter as encouragement.

"We can do this! Together, just like you said!"

The silhouette shifted slightly. Arthur could have sworn Merlin had just taken a step back.

"Merlin!" Arthur ignored the tears trailing down his cheeks, "Do you trust me?"

The winds died down a little more, allowing Arthur to see his servant more clearly. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as well, though the look off obvious confusion on his face meant that he clearly didn't know why. Even so, he refused to take his golden eyes off Arthur.

"Merlin!" Arthur was clutching on to him now, scared that if he let go for even just a second he'd be blown back again, "Do you trust me?"

Merlin tried to take another step back, the collar's illusion breaking slightly and writhing around his neck, but Arthur took his face in his hands, staring at the eyes that had been empty for far to long.

Slowly, agonisingly slowly, Merlin's head moved a little. And Arthur choked in relief when he figured out it was a nod.

With shaking hands, Arthur grabbed one of the vials from his belt and undid the neckerchief from around his arm. He soaked the neckerchief in the antidote, all the while staring into Merlin's eyes.

"Here." Arthur smiled, "Let's cover up that ridiculous fashion statement."

Merlin took a step back, but a gentle touch on his arm stilled him. With shaking hands, Arthur tied the neckerchief back around Merlin's neck, rubbing it on the collar as he did so. Arthur grinned with relief as the winds died around him, the sand falling back into the arena. Arthur stared into Merlin's eyes, searching for any kind of emotion, "Merlin?"

Merlin blinked, "Arthur?"

Arthur laughed, hugging Merlin and sticking his nose into his neck, "I thought I'd lost you!"

"What?" Merlin asked. When he looked around, he could see the gaping expressions of the crowd's faces and the furious expression on King Deslin's, "What'd I miss?"

"You idiot." Arthur laughed, tightening his hold on Merlin, "You're late."

Merlin grinned, "Aren't I always?"

Arthur kissed him.


	28. A lair full of knights

By the time Lancelot, Elyan and Aithusa managed to get to the illusion wall, Adelaine and Leon were already there.

"Lancelot. Elyan." Leon nodded. The smile of greeting turned to a frown as he studied them, "Where are your rags?"

"We gave them away." Lancelot explained, "We encountered Boar and Cinders on the way here. When we freed them from control we gave them orders to disenchant as many sorcerers as they could."

"Good work. I suppose you got your rematch then?" Leon turned to Elyan.

"Not in the traditional sense." Elyan admitted, "But I couldn't have done it without Lancelot."

"That's good to hear." Leon smiled.

"Where are the others?" Lancelot brought up, looking down the hallway expectantly, "Gwaine and Percival should be here by now."

"This is Gwaine we're talking about." Elyan sighed, "I'm sure it's nothing.

"They'd better hurry up." Adelaine pitched in, "We're at a disadvantage cornered in like this. If the guards find us before your knights do, then we won't even get to the Fomorrah."

"They'll be fine, this is Gwaine and Percival we're talking about." Leon told them, trying to hide the worry in his own voice.

The minutes dragged on, all four off them anxiously watching the hallway that stretched out before them. Aithusa, still perched on Lancelot's shoulder, stretched and shook herself, swatting Lancelot on the ear as she did so. When she was relaxed, she slumped even further, wondering if now was a good time to sleep or not.

"There!" Elyan called out as two figures made themselves known at the end of the hallways.

"Hey guys!" Gwaine called at the top of his voice, no regard whatsoever for the fact that an entire army could be out looking for them.

"Idiot." Leon scolded, "Would you watch your tone?"

"Sorry." Gwaine shrugged, "Got a little excited, that's all."

"You had us worried sick!" Elyan told them, "What took you so long."

"Gwaine got us lost." Percival sighed as Gwaine smiled sheepishly at them, "Turns out his drunken memory isn't all that reliable."

"I should have known." Lancelot smiled despite himself, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"You love me." Gwaine joked, prodding Lancelot as he walked past them and examined the wall, "So, this is it, huh?"

"Yes." Adelaine confirmed, "This is the entrance to the Fomorrah cave. You'll need to get moving, the guards will be on you any second now."

"And they don't know about this cave?" Percival asked.

Adelaine shook her head, "No. If we disarm the spell, get inside and put it back up again we should be safe from the guards."

Elyan let her thought continue, "Only..."

"We'll be trapped inside the home of a Fomorrah." Leon finished for him.

"Sounds like fun." Gwaine deadpanned, "Well, no time like the present, huh?"

"My sentiments exactly." Adelaine murmured as she approached the wall.

The knights all watched with bated breath as she placed a hand on the centre of the wall. Her eyes glowed a molten gold as her mouth wrapped around a spell.

" **Datgelu.** "

The wall shimmered slightly, then disappeared, leaving a craggy, winding stairway leading to the Fomorrah in it's place.

"Come on, get in." Adelaine ushered them all inside.

"Wait!" Elyan called, "We don't have any torches!"

"The majority of the lair is water, torches aren't going to be of much use!" Adelaine argued back, casting a worried glance over her shoulder.

"We're just meant to go down this staircase in the dark?" Elyan asked.

"Oh, for the love of..." Adelaine looked around her and quickly snatched a nearby torch from the wall. Eyes flashing gold, the torch quickly sprung to life.

"There." She huffed, "Now get in!"

The knights all bundled into the cave, pausing when the sharp dissonances of thunder echoed around the castle.

"Is that thunder?" Percival's face scrunched up in confusion, "It was sunny when I last looked out a window."

"Same for me." Lancelot muttered, "But I don't think this is natural."

The knights looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. At the sound of the thunder, Aithusa perked her head up and sniffed the air, whining achingly.

"She knows it's him." Lancelot sighed, "Somehow, I think the storm is Merlin's doing."

"Should have known." Gwaine muttered.

"Well, the only thing we can do about it Is getting to the bottom of the cave and slaying the Fomorrah, the sooner the better." Leon spoke up, "Let's go!"

Adelaine cast the illusion spell back over the entrance of the cave, and then they started their descent down the staircase.

At first, they did try to be quiet, but what with five knights, a dragon, noisy armour and Gwaine, the option for 'element of surprise' quickly went out of the window. Instead, the knights clamoured down the staircase clumsily, feeling their way by dragging their hand on the wall. Adelaine had the only torch, so she went in the middle, trying to make the light reach all off them. Either way, it didn't stop the exclamations of surprise when one of the stairs gave way slightly, or when one knight accidentally tripped over another. Overall, their progress was achingly slow, and at one point or another, all the knights wondered how scared Merlin must have been to have made his way both up and down these stairs whilst he was soaked, cold and alone.

"You stay here." Leon ordered Adelaine when they finally made it to the bottom of the staircase, "If things look bad, make a run for it. I think it's best if Aithusa stays with you."

"This little beast?" Adelaine looked at Aithusa, who had fallen asleep on Lancelot's shoulder. At the mention of her name, she immediately woke back up again.

"She'll get excited and try to help us take down the Fomorrah." Leon explained, "She could get seriously hurt if we allow her to fight the Fomorrah with us."

"We'll need her towards the latter half of the fight." Percival added, "But for now it's best that both of you are safe."

"I suppose." Adelaine sighed as Lancelot picked up Aithusa and handed her to Adelaine. Aithusa glared at Lancelot, resenting him for placing her in the arms of a total stranger, but as soon as Adelaine waved the torch around a little in front of her, the baby dragon soon forgot the ordeal and pawed at the sparks in front of her.

"Alright." Leon concluded, having gone over everything, "Let's go."

While keeping an ear out for any hissing, since their eyes weren't going to be very dependable in this light, the knights slowly stepped into the cave, forming a circle as they did so, which was a strategy that they had previously discussed in the cell so that the Fomorrah couldn't sneak up on any of them.

The cave was deathly silent, the only noises that the knights could hear were the occasional splashes of water on the cave floor.

"Where's the lake?" Leon wondered aloud, his voice a whisper as he waited patiently for his eyes to get used to the darkness."

"Somewhere over there I think." Lancelot pointed with his sword at the void of darkness that stretched out to meet them, "I think I can see ripples."

"We'd best stay away from there then." Leon answered, "The Fomorrah most likely works best in the lake. None of us have the same powers as Merlin, so it would be a lot harder for us to get out if we got knocked in. Understood?"

None of the knights answered vocally, nodding instead as they continued to scan the darkness for any sign of the snake.

With all the noise that they had made while descending the staircase, they knew that their presence was no secret. Feeling the hairs rise on the back of his neck, Gwaine couldn't help but look behind him, reminded that Merlin had been lured into a trap. The only thing he saw were the outline of Leon's curls as he looked the other way. Sighing, Gwaine returned to looking at the darkness in front of him, squinting slightly, wondering if that would make things any easier.

"Perhaps it's asleep in the lake?" Percival asked, "Could be nocturnal."

"The entire cave's as black as night, I don't think that matters." Leon debunked, "We just have to keep looking."

The cave stretched on slightly, so the knights slowly moved forward in their new formation, staying as far away from the edge of the lake as they could. The only sound was their footsteps on the water. There were several false alarms as the knights' eyes and ears played tricks on them, but after ten or so minutes of a still silence, Gwaine was starting to wonder whether it was possible that Merlin had accidentally killed the snake himself.

"There!" A sharp hiss from Elyan quickly derailed the thought as all the knights stood with swords at the ready. Gwaine tried his best to see what Elyan was pointing at, the other knights keeping their eyes glued to their original directions, just in case the snake was playing tricks of them.

"I thought I saw movement." Elyan elaborated, "The darkness just seemed to... shift a little?"

Gwaine noticed his voice go higher, making it sound more like a question than an answer. The snake was playing tricks on them. It was here, somewhere, and it was making them uncertain. Afraid. Gwaine felt a defiant anger rise up within him at the thought of obeying someone else's rules. He wasn't going to let some slimy reptile get the better of him.

While Elyan tried his best to peer further into the dark, Gwaine retreated back into his own thoughts. They were in a circle and were sticking close together, meaning that if the snake attacked one of them then the others would know about it.

Gwaine frowned. If he were a horrific, ugly snake monster living in the pits of the Earth what would he do?

The knights would be talking to one another, knowing that their chance for the element of surprise had been blown, so the snake would try to take advantage of it. He'd try to sneak up on them. But how? They had eyes in every direction. Suddenly, Gwaine let out a short gasp and felt himself turn cold at the revelation. All direction except one.

Gwaine looked up, and a million beady little eyes stared back.

"Scatter!" Gwaine roared as the Fomorrah hovered directly above them. The knights only had a second to obey Gwaine's order before the behemoth was upon them, snarling and snapping it's many heads at them.

The cave floor shook at the impact of the Fomorrah slamming down on them, but Gwaine had managed to brace himself. Elyan had messed up his timing and Gwaine was now helping him up, Percival had dropped his sword in the scuffle, and Lancelot was hovering dangerously close to the lake. The only one who seemed to have realised where the Fomorrah was as well was Leon.

Gwaine moved to Elyan, giving him his forearm to help the knight up, never once taking his eyes of the snake that was watching their every move. Some of the bigger snakes even tried to lunge at him, but Gwaine swatted them away with his sword, since his shield arm was busy helping Elyan up.

The snake, most likely according to plan, had managed to take them by surprise, landing in the centre of it all. Now, all of his eyes seemed to be trained on one of the knights. Like they had with Elyan, some of the snakes had tried to attack Percival, but Leon and Lancelot were ready, leaping in to protect Percival while he retrieved his sword. Once he had managed to do so, Lancelot and Leon returned to their positions in their formation, Lancelot's feet being several metres away from the edge of the lake.

"Lancelot." Leon called out in warning.

"I know." Lancelot replied. Seeing the exchange, several more eyes turned to Lancelot, latching on to his disadvantage in a second. Immediately, a flurry of snakes lunged at Lancelot, but Gwaine and Percival were there with backup.

The snakes were ignoring them however, going straight for Lancelot instead. Lancelot held up his shield, but that didn't seem to matter to the snakes. They rammed their heads into Lancelot's shield with so much force that Lancelot couldn't help but take a few steps backwards, which was exactly what the snake wanted him to do.

Lancelot could feel the water lapping at his ankles now. He cast an uneasy glance at the darkness that stretched out before him, but he didn't let it last long. He focused on the snakes that were now hissing at him menacingly. Lancelot gripped his sword and swatted in at them, careful not to chop any of the heads of. Gwaine and Percival stood on either side, their shields in front of them.

On the other side of their circle, Leon and Elyan were separated by one of the snake's larger heads. Since Leon and Elyan were on their own, the majority of the snakes were hovering down to take advantage of their lack of help.

"Their targeting Leon and Elyan!" Gwaine shouted as he stabbed one of the larger snakes in the neck, mindful not to drag his sword all the way through, "We need to go help them!"

The other two nodded and tried their best to make their way away from the lake, but the snake had already seen their move. Gwaine and Lancelot were making their way towards Elyan when another large head lunged at them, and Lancelot was only just in time to catch it.

However, what with being preoccupied with all the heads, none of the knights noticed the tail. With the knights waving their swords around at all the heads, they had failed to notice that the tail was unravelling from it's coil until it was too late.

"Look out!" Percival tried to warn them, but it was to late. The tail whipped out at Lancelot, who was then flung into the lake before he even had time to shout. Gwaine and Elyan, who were closest to Lancelot at the time, tried to run for the shore, but one of the Fomorrah's larger heads intercepted them, hissing it's taunts at them triumphantly.

"We have to get him out of there!" Leon said as tried plunging his sword into one of the heads' jaws. It screeched at him and retreated, another one taking it's place.

"I'm trying!" Elyan called back, trying to tug his shield out of a snake's mouth. With a shout, Elyan's shaking arms gave way as the snake managed to pull the shield out of his grip and crushed it when he slammed his jaws shut.

"Down a shield!"

"I've got you!" Gwaine got in front of Elyan and stabbed the head in the eye. Gwaine grinned when he hit his target, and laughed even more when he noticed that the edges of the eye were burned horribly.

"Bullseye!" Gwaine whooped, "Guess me and Merlin do think alike after all!"

"There isn't time for that!" Elyan pulled him past the screeching snake head and pulled him towards the lake, " He should have surfaced by now!"

"Gotcha! You go down there, I'll keep an eye out." Gwaine nodded as Elyan dived in.

The multiple snake heads that saw this snarled in rage, moving it's entire body towards Gwaine.

"It's trying to go into the lake!" Percival figured as he yanked his arm away from a snake strike, "Gwaine!"

"I could use some backup!" Gwaine grunted as his arm shook with the effort of holding his shield.

"Right!" Percival and Leon looked out for each other as they both tried to make their way over to Gwaine, all while ducking and diving to avoid the snake's occasional lunges at them.

Eventually the three stood in front of the lake, trying their best to fend of the heads without falling into the lake themselves.

Meanwhile, Lancelot was still trying to recover from the blow from the tail. After feeling around with his feet a little, he could figure out that the blow had been so strong that the momentum had plummeted him all the way down to the bottom. The lake was pitch black, but thankfully, due to fighting for several minutes in darkness, Lancelot could see fairly well. His hands were empty, meaning he had lost his sword and shield in the attack. When he looked around, he thought, hoped, that he could see a faint glimmer of silver just a few metres away from him.

When he tried to swim towards it, however, he felt his foot snag on something, and he jarred to a holt. When he brought his hands to his ankle to feel around, he made out something slimy wrapping around his leg. After tugging on it a little bit, he found out it was a sort of plant that had been growing at the bottom.

Lancelot tried tugging at it a bit more, but frowned when his foot didn't come free. He tried swimming upwards again, but the plant held fast, refusing to snap. Lancelot was panicking slightly now, as he could feel his lungs burning as he ran out of oxygen. Reaching towards the sword, he figured that he could cut the using it. He stretched out his hand, but it was no use.

In desperation, Lancelot tried tugging once again at the plant. This wasn't how he was meant to die. He was meant to die in battle. With honour. With dignity. With a sword in his hand, just like It had always been.

Lancelot could feel his vision blurry slightly, and he was so panicked that he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

A figure was next to him, though it was to dark to see who. Lancelot watched as they drew their own sword and chopped through the plant. Immediately, Lancelot started swimming upwards, not enough breath left to go after his sword.

Lancelot broke the surface, gasping and coughing. When he rubbed the water from his eyes, he grinned when he saw Elyan surfacing as well. The two exchanged smiles before Elyan dragged him to the shore.

"Thank you." Lancelot panted.

"Don't mention it." Elyan smirked, "We wanted stories to take back to Camelot, we've got them."

"Gwen's going to have a heart attack." Lancelot chuckled. Elyan laughed along with him as they clambered to the shore, where Percival, Leon and Gwaine were waiting for them, still fending off the Fomorrah.

"We've got an idea." Leon announced, shooting a nod in their direction, we're going to try and make it impossible for him to move.

"How's that?" Lancelot panted, still trying to get his breath back.

"Me, Gwaine and Percival are going to shove our swords into his body, using our shields to protect us from the heads and preventing the Fomorrah from moving around." Leon explained, Then, we're going to shout for Adelaine and Aithusa to come in and enchant the sword that Elyan's holding, which will be the one that we shove into it's heart."

"Alright." Elyan nodded, "So, what are we waiting for?"

Leon shot him a grin and turned to shout at the other two, "Positions!"

Gwaine, Leon and Percival immediately started moving. It was awkward and slow, since they were still trying to defend themselves against the snake heads, but eventually they stopped moving when Leon was behind the snake, and Gwaine and Percival were on either side.

"Now you two!" Leon called as he swatted away a smaller snake head, "Go and fetch Adelaine and Aithusa! Now!"

Elyan and Lancelot nodded, running the way they had come. Because of the painfully slow progress that they had made when looking for the snake, it wasn't long before Adelaine and Aithusa came running up to meet them after Elyan and Lancelot had shouted her name.

"Is it time?" Adelaine asked. Lancelot and Elyan didn't answer, just dragged her back to where the Fomorrah was.

Adelaine scowled at the creature upon meeting it, most likely dealing with the unpleasant memories that came to mind when her eyes settled on it. Leon, Percival and Gwaine had managed to get their swords deep into the Fomorrah's body, so much so that it screeched in pain whenever it moved. However, Elyan and Lancelot could tell by their panicked expressions and awkward movements that they weren't going to last very long.

"Come on." She frowned, "Let's get this over with."

Aithusa regarded the beast with vague interest, but, with the mind of the baby, she was more preoccupied with getting herself with getting herself comfortable on Lancelot's shoulder, grateful that she no longer had to make do with the mean lady's bony shoulder.

"Now!" Adelaine took her place in front of the Fomorrah along with Elyan and Lancelot, "Me and Aithusa tried something while you lot were fighting and it just might work. Aithusa!"

Aithusa cracked one eye open and grumbled. She straightened however and, hopping onto Lancelot's head, stretched her wing's out to their full capacity. When Adelaine held the torch out in front of her, Aithusa flapped her wings, the wind she created causing the flames to be whipped around violently. Adelaine's eyes glowed gold:

" **Lyft sy be in baelwylm ac forheanan se widere!** "

With the combined elements of fire and wind, an unnatural flame sprung from the torch and enveloped the sword that Elyan was holding. The sword blazed red, the incantation of the spell burning itself into the blade. The Fomorrah screeched and wriggled, though this only seemed to deepen the swords more.

"Now!" Lancelot cried and, together, he and Elyan grabbed the enchanted sword and shoved it into the Fomorrah's heart.

The flames of the sword flared up once more and a scream echoed around the cavern as the flames spread across the body of the Fomorrah. Gwaine, Leon and Percival quickly drew their swords and the flames spread across and swamped the Fomorrah, burning it alive.

The knights regrouped and, after checking each other for injuries, watched the show as the Fomorrah's screams echoed and bounced around the cave, before eventually dying down into whispers. Then nothing. The same still silence that had haunted them the second they had stepped down there plagued them once more, leaving them along with the burnt corpse of a monster.

"So." Gwaine croaked, forcing the smoke out of his lungs, "Anyone fancy having that over an open fire?"

Percival shoved him, but shot him a grateful smile for trying to lighten the mood.

"Let's go." Leon finally said, "I don't like it down here."

"Me neither." Lancelot sighed, smiling slightly as Aithusa hopped back onto his shoulder, "Let's get out of here."

The five knights trudged back up the stairs, feeling their way clumsily through complete darkness, Adelaine in their wake.


	29. An arrest full of triumph

"You think this matters?" Came the call from the stands as Arthur and Merlin parted. When they turned to look, they saw that King Deslin had stood up, his face thunderous with rage, "You haven't done anything substantial! You've only delayed the inevitable."

"Maybe I have." Arthur played along, unable to stop the smug smile from spreading over his face, "But my knights might have other plans."

"What do you mean?" King Deslin frowned, his eyes narrowing.

"I ordered my knights to escape now because they know of the cave where the Fomorrah dwells. Right now, all five of them are fighting courageously, so I don't think the Fomorrah will be lasting that long."

King Deslin's frown disappeared without a trace as he suddenly burst into laughter, "You think they stand a chance?" He boomed. Then, as his laughter died down, he vaulted over the stands and landed in the arena. When he had landed, his expression had turned serious and dark, "I can order the Fomorrah to kill them all. You're going to loose your knights, just like you've already lost your sorcerer. You're going to die a broken man, Arthur."

"We'll see." Arthur smiled bitterly, "Though perhaps you'd like to join me? You don't have anyone particularly loyal by your side, so I doubt you'll die an accomplished man."

"I don't need loyalty." King Deslin snarled, "I have power!"

"That's where you're wrong I'm afraid." Arthur shook his head, the smile on his face betraying his mock sadness, "You can't have power without loyalty. You can't have one without the other. If you use your power to wrong those with loyalty, then they'll leave you. If you use your loyalty to betray those with power then they'll leave you."

King Deslin snarled as Merlin arrived with Arthur's sword. Arthur shot him a smile before he carried on.

"I have one with unspeakable power in my command." Arthur felt ridiculous saying it as he looked at Merlin, but felt equally amazed every time he thought it to be true, "And I also have their undying loyalty."

Arthur could feel a blush rising to his cheeks as Merlin beamed with pride, but he fought to keep it down.

"I also have my own power, and a lot of it." Arthur said as Merlin continued to gather his armour and put it back on him, "But it would mean nothing if the people who are loyal to me were to leave. I wouldn't know how to use it if they did."

King Deslin's frown was deepening the longer Arthur continued to speak. Inside, Arthur felt a surge of disappointment at the thought that he wouldn't be able to persuade King Deslin to see his point of view.

"And that is why power and loyalty need to co-operate." He concluded. Merlin finished strapping on Arthur's armour and stood to the side as Prince Arthur stood, the sun shining in his hair, triumphant and powerful.

Arthur shot a grateful smile to his servant, who was also blushing profusely, "You can't have one without the other."

The prince could tell, however, that from the scowl that donned King Deslin's face that he was a lost cause. This caused Arthur's own smile to fall as he gripped his sword. This was a man who believed solely in power. This was a man who refused to believe in anyone but himself.

Arthur drew his sword as he stepped closer to King Deslin. This was a man who would prioritize himself over everything. This was a man who would cast away everyone and rule with hate.

Arthur picked up his pace as rage clouded his vision. This was a man who was a hypocrite. This was a man who used magic, even when his kingdom had outlawed it.

Arthur aimed at the man's heart and prepared to swing.

This was a man just like his father-

"Arthur!"

Arthur paused, seconds away from running King Deslin through. Merlin jogged up to him, but Arthur refused to take his eyes of King Deslin. Not wanting to let his guard down, Arthur instead looked at Merlin in his peripherals, "Yes?"

"Arthur, I know you're mad."

Arthur scowled as he stared straight into King Deslin's eyes, "He hurt you."

Merlin ignored this, "But you know what you're doing is wrong."

The prince gritted his teeth. Refusing to lower his sword, refusing to let this man do anything more to hurt his people.

"Besides," Merlin continued, "I don't think it's your place to punish King Deslin."

Arthur scoffed, "Not my place? Merlin, he hurt you. He was going to make you do all those horrible things?"

"And what about the other sorcerers?" Merlin questioned, "What about the ones that had to put up with actually being enslaved to him? All the horrible things that he made them do? All the people that he told them to kill?"

"Arthur frowned, his sword wavering slightly. Merlin took this as encouragement and continued, "This isn't your decision to make, Arthur. It's theirs."

Arthur turned to where Merlin was looking, and saw Byrne, Boar, Cinders and Aiken all sat in the crowds. Byrne and Boar were smiling, while Aiken and Cinders were waving their rags at them.

Arthur looked at the rags inquisitively, "They helped?"

"It would seem so." Merlin shrugged, "They must have rubbed the rags on as many collars as they could before they dried out."

Arthur grinned at them for a little while longer before he sighed and put down his sword, stepping away from King Deslin, "For once, you might be right." He smiled, "Thank you, Merlin."

Merlin beamed at him. Arthur cast a glance to King Deslin and, since he hadn't moved in protest, gathered that Merlin still had him in a freezing spell, and would most likely keep it that way until they managed to secure a pair of handcuffs on him.

Arthur turned to him with as much regal air as he could muster, "Thanks to my loyal servant, it has come to my attention that myself and Merlin are not the only people you have wronged. There are others, and we have decided to place your judgement in their hands."

Thanks to the freezing spell, King Deslin didn't show any reaction, but Arthur knew that he had still heard the news. Then, taking his eyes off the King, he gestured towards the four knights. They looked at each other before shrugging and joining Arthur in the arena.

"Before you decide what to do with him," Arthur spoke, "I'd feel a lot better if the man had handcuffs on, just in case he manages to disenchant Merlin's spell. Do you know if any of the guards...?"

"Here." Cinders smiled as she reached into her robe and pulled out the same pair of handcuffs that Merlin had been arrested in, "I found these in King Deslin's room while running around looking for sorcerers. They should do the trick."

Arthur beamed at her, "Thank you."

"Thank the Gods King Deslin doesn't have powerful magic." Arthur couldn't help but think as he snapped the cuffs onto the King, "We've had enough problems to deal with already."

After the cuffs had been snapped on, Arthur nodded to Merlin and Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he released the freezing spell's effect. Sure enough, King Deslin seemed to have heard everything while the spell was in effect, and was now even more furious than he had been before.

He glowered at his four most powerful knights, "You! You realise the Fomorrah has yet to die! As long as that beast's still alive you'll only remain free of my control for a few hours! As soon as your times up, you'll regret ever betraying me! You traitors."

"We're not traitors." Byrne couldn't help but smirk at the pitiful man before him, "We were never loyal to you in the first place."

King Deslin spat at her feet, his eyes wide and panicked, giving him crazed look that reminded Merlin horribly of a wild animal, "You really think you'll get far? Tell me, how is the life of a monster better to that of a slave? They'll burn you the first village you step foot in."

"That would be the case, except..." Arthur turned to the three sorcerers and the knight, "Once my father passes, I'll be working hard to lift the ban on sorcery. Once it happens, you'd be more than welcome to stay."

"You mean it?" Cinders asked, hope in her eyes.

"I'd be honoured. When we legalise magic, people aren't going to change their beliefs just because Merlin can conjure a few butterflies. We're going to need more than one sorcerer showing Camelot that magic can be used for good."

"That sounds brilliant!" Cinders gushed with a smile that reminded Arthur slightly of Merlin's.

"We'll consider it." Byrne nodded politely at him, grinning as her sister hugged her. Aiken was laughing at them both, and then gave some protests as Cinders pulled him in with them.

Arthur turned to Boar, "We also have more than enough room for a knight of Camelot if you're interested."

Boar shrugged, regarding Arthur with vague interest, "We'll see."

Arthur nodded at him, and all six of them turned to look at the struggling form of King Deslin, "What are you going to do with him?" He couldn't help but ask.

Byrne mulled over his question for a minute before answering, "Nothing yet. Whilst I've suffered from the hands of King Deslin, I'm not the only one. Once this creature you speak of is dead and we're all free of King Deslin for good, then I will gather all the sorcerers in his army and we will discuss what to do with him. For now though, we'll jut put him in the dungeons."

Arthur smiled smugly, looking at the struggling form of King Deslin, "Well, he's all yours."

Byrne smiled gratefully at him, thanking him once again for making the right decision, before helping Cinders and Aiken drag of King Deslin to the cells, while Boar tailed along behind them, scaring away any guards who tried to defy them.

Arthur and Merlin stood alone in the arena. Arthur was staring at the stand where King Deslin had once stood. It was Merlin's laughter that eventually brought him out of his thoughts.

"What is it, Merlin?" Arthur turned towards him. Merlin nodded towards the crowd.

"The crowd." Merlin smiled, "They're still here."

Sure enough, the crowd were still staring at them, baffled faces muttering to each other in confusion.

"Think we'd better clear the situation up for them, don't you?" Arthur whispered. Merlin grinned at him and stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Merlin shouted, using magic to raise his voice as he addressed the crowd, "The winner of the Rivkah tournament! Prince Arthur Pendragon of Camelot!"

The crowd were silent for a while, still unsure of how to react, until, slowly, more and more started clapping. After a while, everyone was cheering while Arthur held his sword up. When he looked at Merlin, his servant was beaming with so much pride that Arthur couldn't help but peck him on the lips.

After a few minutes of the crowd cheering, they finally started to leave one by one. Whilst they were doing so, Merlin shifted uncomfortably.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked.

"Nothing, just..." Merlin winced a little, then reached into his neckerchief. He grinned as he pulled out a red stone and the rotting corpse of a snake.

"They've done it." He voiced Arthur's thoughts, "They've killed it!"

"We'd better go check on them, see if they're alright." Arthur grinned, "Come on!"

The two made their way back into the castle, Merlin leading Arthur to where the illusion was.

"They should be making their way outside the cave by now." Merlin said as he and Arthur walked along a corridor, "We should be able to meet them outside off the cave."

The two continued on, Arthur hoping that all off them had made it out all right.

When they finally turned a corner and came to a dead end, Merlin surged forwards and placed a hand on the wall. His eyes glowed gold:

" **Datgelu.** "

Arthur watched in amazement as the wall shimmered slightly and disappeared, leaving a large, dark cave entrance in it's wake. Arthur strained his ears to see if he could hear anything, but there was nothing. When he looked at Merlin, he could tell the servant was doing the same.

"Nothing." Merlin sighed, "I wonder what's keeping them?"

"Want to go down there and check?" Arthur asked. His mind was already made up, but he knew it would be wrong to head down the cave without checking to see if Merlin agreed with him.

"No." Merlin decided, "The knights can take care of themselves."

"One of them might be injured." Arthur protested. Merlin considered this before his eyes widened, a thought occurring to him.

"What if they're are other dangers in that cave that I didn't know about?" Merlin asked, the question directed more to himself rather than Arthur, "You're right. We should go down there and check."

The two were about to make their way down the stairs when they heard laughter making it's way up into the light. Merlin paused and latched onto the sound, breathing a sigh of relief, "That sounded like-"

"Gwaine." Arthur finished. And then, louder, he shouted, "Gwaine?"

The voice echoed a bit as it bounced around the stairway. For a while, there was nothing but silence. Then after a few seconds, there was a call, "Arthur?"

Merlin and Arthur grinned at each other as a loud clamour began and footsteps were heard. From the protests and the shouts, it seemed like the knights' ascent up the stairs had grown even harder due to their excitement.

Soon, however, Gwaine finally stumbled into view, a grin breaking out onto his face the minute he laid eyes on Merlin.

Arthur reached his arms out with the intention of patting Gwaine on the back, but he was quickly cast aside as Gwaine walked passed him and hugged Merlin.

"Well?" Gwaine grinned as Merlin laughed, "How'd we do?"

A smile beamed on Merlin's face as he held up the corpse of the snake that had been wrapped around his neck. Gwaine laughed in relief and hugged Merlin again.

It wasn't long after this that the other knights stumbled into view, their faces breaking out into smiles the minute they saw the rotting snake in Merlin's hand. Unlike Gwaine, however, they didn't ignore Arthur, and took it in turns to greet him and congratulating him on surviving his battle.

"Aithusa!" Merlin shouted in surprise as the young dragon bounded off Lancelot's shoulder and flung herself into Merlin's arms, chittering happily, "It's good to see you to!"

After the knights had all greeted Merlin and Arthur in turn, Merlin cast the stone and the corpse of the snake into the cave, and Adelaine closed up the entrance using the spell.

After that, the group decided to bid goodbye to Adelaine, who said she had work to do in the physician's chambers, and go up to Arthur's chambers, where they could discuss everything in full.

"So King Deslin's been arrested?" Elyan asked as they all sat around the table, "It's a start, I suppose."

"Byrne said that she wanted all the sorcerers that were done wrong by King Deslin to have a hand in the decision." Arthur exclaimed, "And she's right. They deserve to decide the punishment much more than I do."

"You're right." Lancelot said, "I can't imagine how much they've suffered under his rule."

"I didn't make the decision." Arthur admitted, "It was Merlin. I would have happily killed King Deslin, but Merlin talked me out of it."

Merlin couldn't help but blush, not entirely used to being given credit yet, but he accepted the thanks anyone, nodding shyly at the knights.

"Speaking of Merlin," Gwaine grinned, eager to hear the answer, "How did your fight with him go?"

"It was hard." Arthur wasn't ashamed to admit, "One of the toughest opponents I've ever had to face. I would have lost if Merlin hadn't been under any influence."

"I was wondering..." Gwaine brought up before Arthur could carry on, "What if we let Merlin take part in training once on a while? Not as a punching bag, but as an actual opponent?"

The plan settled in the silence as the knights mulled it over in their heads.

"If Merlin really is as powerful as Morgana," Percival was the first to speak, "Then we could use his magic to help practice our skills."

"We'd certainly stand a better chance against sorcerers anyhow." Leon put in.

"Perhaps, but I'm not entirely sure about Morgana." Merlin brought up, "True, we could use my magic to help train the knights into dealing with sorcerers, but it might not help as effectively when training to fight against Morgana specifically."

"How do you mean?" Arthur asked, his hand resting on his cheek as he stared intently at Merlin, who Arthur had insisted sat on his right-hand side.

"Well, Morgana's magic is dark. It's fed by ambition, by a hunger for power. Since it's fuelled by different intentions than mine, it causes different effects. For example, her stunning spells are more likely to break bones, however my stunning spells are more likely to knock a man unconscious."

"I see." Arthur muttered, "So Morgana's spells are more likely to harm people than yours? That's why we shouldn't assume that you and Morgana are capable of the same things during training?"

"Yes." Merlin answered.

"Either way, I still think Merlin's magic would be a valuable asset to training." Leon argued, "Morgana or not, there are still going to be a lot of sorcerers out there who still believe that Arthur is just another Uther. If we're going to protect Arthur, we're going to have to learn how to defend ourselves against sorcery."

"I agree, but it's not going to be out into effect until magic is legalized. If Merlin starts using magic while my father is still alive people are going to riot." Arthur explained. The knights fell into silence, all watching the sleeping form of Aithusa, who hurled up in the centre of the table and had fallen asleep.

"Does that dragon do anything but sleep?" Arthur found himself muttering.

Merlin chuckled beside him, "She's a baby."

"Yes, that's exactly it. She has to have more energy than this."

"She does, usually." Merlin offered, "But she's just had a 10-day flight, something that's rarely asked of a baby. She's just resting, that's all."

Merlin smiled as Arthur sighed, and then turned to the knights, "By the way, were any of you injured during your fight with the Fomorrah? I can use my magic to heal them-"

"Nope! It was just that easy!" Gwaine boasted, "We checked each other while the blasted thing was burning. We're fine."

"Right." Merlin breathed a sigh of relief as he fingered his neckerchief, which was still slightly damp from the antidote.

"So, Merlin, when we finally manage to legalise magic, would you do me the honour of becoming Court Sorcerer?"

Merlin smiled, "Yes, Arthur. You know I would."


	30. A journey full of answers

After they had spent the rest of the afternoon talking about their plans after they legalised magic, Merlin and Arthur bid goodbye to the knights and went around preparing Arthur for bed, which meant Merlin doing all the work and Arthur doing absolutely nothing.

"What do you think Byrne and the others will do to King Deslin?"

Merlin considered the question for a minute before answering, "Can't really say. From what I've seen, they're not murderers, but they could banish him or strip him of his magic."

Arthur frowned, "Merlin, you're being awfully calm."

Merlin paused, turning to look at him, "I am?"

Arthur nodded, "Just... think about it. You were controlled today. If I hadn't managed to last that long today, and if the knights hadn't managed to kill the Fomorrah, then today could have ended a lot differently. Namely, me and the knights being dead and you being stuck under King Deslin's control."

Merlin flinched, seeing where he was coming from, "Well, to be honest, I don't really remember much of the fight."

"You don't?" Arthur was surprised to hear disappointment in his voice.

"No." Merlin answered, "But I wasn't worried."

"Why?"

Merlin sat on the bed beside Arthur and looked at him with sincerity, "Because it's impossible for my magic to hurt you. It doesn't matter if I'm mind-controlled, or if I did end up like Morgana. Because the truth is I won't ever be able to use my magic against you."

Arthur thought back to the size of the thorns, the harmless flames, the lightning missing him, and the winds dying down. Slowly, he felt a smirk spread across his face, "And why's that?"

The small smile that Merlin had offered Arthur during his little speech vanished in a second. He sighed and got up, "You're such a prat, you know that?"

Arthur grinned and sat up eagerly, "Come on, tell me."

"It's just going to make your ego bigger."

"Not as big as your ears."

"Not as big as your stomach."

"I am not fat!"

"Sure thing, Sire."

"Merlin!" The two grinned at each other before silence filled the room again, "Tell me."

Merlin sighed, "You already know the answer."

"Yes, but I want to hear it from you."

Merlin gave another exasperated sigh and sat back down on the bed again, "The reason my magic can never hurt you. The reason why I'm never going to be able to use it against you is because it was meant for you. I'm never going to hurt you with it because I care-"

"Merlin."

"Love you too much." Merlin corrected.

Arthur smiled at the words and looked back at Merlin, "Love you too, clotpole."

Merlin huffed a laugh, turning his gaze back down towards his lap. The room fell silent once more, Merlin fiddling with his hands, not quite sure what else to do. When he next looked at Arthur, his eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed something, "You're looking at my neckerchief."

Arthur snapped out of his thoughts as his eyes looked up, "What?"

Merlin gave another laugh, "Very eloquent, Sire."

"Shut up." Arthur swatted his arm, "What did you say?"

"My neckerchief." Merlin repeated, "You're looking at it."

Arthur gaped at him, unable to stop the blush spreading to his face at being caught, "No I'm not."

"You were."

Arthur stared at him, reaching for an answer, "I'm just... glad I was able to rub it on that collar. I was just thinking about what happened earlier today."

Merlin's eyes narrowed as a smile spread across his face, "Do you want the neckerchief back?"

"No!" Arthur's answer was so quick that Merlin laughed.

"You do, don't you?"

Arthur was about to protest when the answer became stuck in his mouth.

"I don't like the smell." He tried.

"I can wash it."

"It's too tatty."

"I can get a new one."

Arthur glared at him before sighing, "Fine." He gave up, "I liked it when it was wrapped around my arm."

Merlin felt a smirk spreading across his face, "And why's that?"

Arthur glared at him, "Don't you dare."

Merlin looked at him innocently, "What do you mean?"

"I already told you what you wanted to hear."

Merlin smirked, "You can always say it again, can't you?"

Arthur gave an exaggerated sigh, then looked back to Merlin, "Before my test with Lancelot, he told me that Guinevere would give him a piece of silk that's she'd sewn just for him, and he'd wear it underneath his armour."

Merlin listened, enraptured. Arthur looked at him nervously and continued, shifting in embarrassment, "He saw the neckerchief that was on my arm and said that he was glad that you had finally found happiness with me. During the fight, when me and Lancelot were circling each other, the neckerchief was always so... warm. It was like a comfort. Whenever I started having doubts, I'd focus on the neckerchief and I could just... feel myself getting calmer."

Merlin stared at him, "Why?" He asked quietly.

"Because I love you." Arthur answered, "And ever since we first met I've always felt a lot more confident and secure about my own abilities because you were never scared to speak your mind like other servants were, and you didn't see me as 'just a prince' like other knights did. When you're by my side, I honestly feel like I can do anything, which is why I enjoyed wearing your neckerchief into battle so much."

Arthur's words hovered in the air for a while, before Merlin gave him a nudge, "Love you too, prat."

Arthur gave a shy little laugh, still uncomfortable about the premise of admitting his feelings, but as he watched Merlin get back up and continue to finish up his chores, Arthur could feel the awkwardness subsiding, and smiled as he felt it get replaced with relief.

After months of not knowing what to call something, he finally did. And after a few more months, Arthur had finally gathered up the courage to say it. He sighed happily, feeling like a massive eight had been taken off his shoulders.

"Come on." He finally said, "We should get ready for bed."

"Just a minute." Merlin said as he folded up all of Arthur's clothes.

"Merlin." Arthur warned, "Now."

Merlin looked at the clothes he was folding, then at Arthur, and then Arthur rolled his eyes as Merlin carelessly shoved the rest of the clothes into his bag, ready for the morning. After he had fastened the bag and placed it with the rest of them on the table, he joined Arthur, who had gotten up from the bed.

Without a word, merlin started getting Arthur undressed, taking off his armour and chainmail. While he was doing so, Arthur was reminded of how he had to take his armour off during his fight with Merlin. He wondered if he would have to do the same while training with Merlin. He smiled.

"What is it?" Merlin asked as he took of Arthur's shoulder pads.

"Nothing." Arthur responded. "It's just... something occurred to me."

Merlin cast a suspicious glance at him as he undid the shoulder straps, "And what's that?"

"What other spells are you capable off?" Arthur asked the question that he had been wondering for a while, "I've seen you looking in different types of magic books, but I've only ever seen you throw people around, light torches or drop branches on people. Today, you summoned a thunderstorm! What are your limits, Merlin?"

Merlin's eyebrows furrowed as he bit his lip, "I'm not entirely sure."

Arthur sighed, "And is that because you're an idiot, or...?"

"No." Merlin defended, "Gaius doesn't exactly know either. Since I was born with magic, it's defiantly a lot more powerful than it is in others, but I haven't found any limits yet. It's just the more powerful spells I use, the more exhausted I become."

Arthur considered the information as Merlin helped take off his kneepads and boots, "I see. Have you ever had the need to use spells of that calibre before?"

Merlin looked up at him, "You mean like the thunderstorm?"

Arthur nodded, "Yeah."

Merlin frowned again, thinking hard, then, he answered with, "Nimueh."

Arthur tilted his head slightly in recollection, "You mean my father's Court Sorcerer?"

Merlin nodded, "That's her. I travelled to the Isle of the Blessed and fought her. I managed to kill her with a lightning bolt."

"But that was ages ago!" Arthur exclaimed, "You've been able to use magic that powerful since then?"

"Gaius was astounded as well when I told him." Merlin smiled, "But I didn't feel any different. I just felt... tired. Like a few hours sleep would make everything all right again."

"Gods." Arthur muttered, "And I nearly got hit by the same lightning today."

Merlin rolled his eyes at him, "It wouldn't have killed you, Arthur."

"It could have injured me. You know, it being a massive bolt of lightning and everything."

"No it couldn't." Merlin gave a small laugh, "It may have been lightning, but it was still under the control of my magic. It wouldn't have been able to hurt you."

Arthur shook his head, amazed, "Just... remind me to never make you angry."

Merlin gave him a small smile, "Despite how much of a prat you are... I think that's impossible Arthur."

Arthur returned his smile just as Merlin had finished taking his chainmail off.

"Come on." Arthur finished the silence between the two, "Bed."

Arthur sat on his bed and lay down on one side. Amused, he watched as Merlin crossed the room to his own quarters, "Merlin?"

Merlin turned to him, "What?"

"Where are you going?"

Merlin frowned, "To my bed?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh." Merlin felt a blush rising on his cheeks, "Oh."

"Get in, Merlin." Arthur spelled it out for him.

"Wait, wait." Merlin's blush was now out of control, "I don't think it's wise to do... that... we have a week-long journey in front of us and-"

"I don't mean that, idiot!" Arthur was blushing as well now, "Just get in here before I change my mind."

After Merlin had managed to calm down the worst of his blush, Merlin took his jacket, neckerchief, boots and socks off before joining Arthur, the two of them sleeping the best they had done for the entirety of their stay in Rivkah.

The next morning, Arthur woke up to Merlin already walking about, finishing up the chores that he had failed to complete the previous day. Merlin was smiling, using his magic to fold up Arthur's clothes properly and to place them carefully in the bag. Arthur watched him for a while before he finally spoke up, "You're awake."

Merlin gave a small gasp of surprise, accidently dropping everything his magic had been manipulating. He turned to Arthur, looking at him sheepishly, "Sorry, Sire, I-"

"Why did you stop using magic?" Arthur asked as he climbed out of bed.

Merlin blinked, still getting over his initial surprise, "I didn't... I mean... I wouldn't..."

Arthur rolled his eyes as Merlin struggled for an answer, "You can continue to use magic, Merlin."

Merlin paused his attempts for an answer and looked at him hopefully, "Really."

"Yes." Arthur decided, "In fact, I'd like to watch."

Merlin looked at him with uncertainty, before snapping his fingers and reanimating the clothes that he had dropped on the floor.

Arthur watched in amazement as a brush and bucket of water scrubbed at his armour all by itself, how a brush swept all the dust under the rug (in true Merlin fashion) and how the curtains patted themselves down, all orchestrated by Merlin, who was controlling the entire thing while reading a book.

After watching the entire display for a few minutes, Arthur found himself laughing.

Merlin looked up, "What?"

"I knew it." Arthur shook his head, "You're so lazy."

Merlin scoffed, "You're the one who wanted to watch!"

Arthur was laughing now, watching in wonder as a cloth danced around the surface of the table, "You are amazing."

The words had come out of his mouth before he even had time to consider them, but Arthur couldn't do anything to stop them. Merlin didn't respond, but Arthur could feel his heart pounding in his chest when he saw a smile spread across Merlin's face. Clearing his throat slightly, he said, "Well, that is when you're not being a total idiot."

"Prat." Merlin responded automatically.

"Clotpole."

"Dollophead."

Arthur scoffed as he slapped Merlin on the head, earning a grunt from him in response. Arthur peered over Merlin's shoulder to see what book he was reading, but was disappointed to find a book about the human anatomy.

"You're not reading about magic?" Arthur asked.

"I couldn't exactly bring a magic book to a kingdom that outlaws them." Merlin said, closing the book and stuffing it in the bag closest to him.

"I suppose not." Arthur said, "Come on, get me dressed."

"Yes, Sire." Merlin huffed as he pulled the armour away from the brush and water.

As Merlin put on his armour, Arthur's thoughts returned to how he would have to start studying magic when he got back home. He would start lessons with Gaius, since Merlin would just mock him whenever he misunderstood things, and then he would ask Merlin for help. He did feel slightly guilty about going behind his father's back, but Arthur could now see how his father had been wrong about magic, and how desperately Camelot needed magic, needed Merlin, in order for it to flourish.

Merlin stepped back, admiring his handiwork, "The knights should have finished packing their own things by now." He said, "We should go meet them in the courtyard."

"Right." Arthur nodded. He took one last look around the room, which, thanks to Merlin's magic, had been tidied to look exactly the way they left it, and walked through the door, Merlin by his side.

Sure enough, all of the knights and Aithusa were waiting for them by the time they had gotten to the courtyard, their horses ready, thanks to the stable boys. As soon as she saw Merlin, Aithusa chittered in delight and flew to him.

"Hey, Aithusa." Merlin greeted her as she nibbled on her ear.

"Wait, she wasn't with you?" Arthur asked, "I thought you had her tucked away in the servant's quarters somewhere."

Merlin shook his head, "If she spends to many nights near me then she isn't going to want to leave when the time comes. Babies can't get to attached, otherwise they won't grow up properly."

"Which is why I had to suffer in silence." Lancelot said as he walked up to them, "Half the night that dragon kept me awake while it was calling for you."

Merlin offered him a sheepish smile, "I'll take your place on lookout duty tonight to make up for it?"

Lancelot chucked, "Done."

After the knights had saddled up and strapped their own belongings onto their respective horses, Merlin finished packing up Arthur's horse and helped Arthur on. While settling into his saddle, a smile broke out onto Arthur's face as he saw Adelaine making her way down the steps.

"Adelaine!" Arthur greeted, "What brings you here?"

The woman gave him a smile, "I just wanted to thank you and your knights. Without Camelot, we'd still be under the control of King Deslin. We can't thank you enough."

"Well, I know one way you can thank us." Arthur smiled as a plan came to mind, "Just one question first: who's going to fill in as regent now that King Deslin's gone."

"It's still up for discussion, but I think Byrne's the most popular choice." Adelaine answered, "Now, what is it that you want?"

"A peace treaty." Arthur replied, "It's a shame I won't be returning with one for my father's sake, but after you manage to get this kingdom the ruler it deserves, then I will return."

"And we'll be honoured to have you." Adelaine nodded, "Just don't ask us to hold any tournaments soon."

Arthur laughed and waved her goodbye, his servant and knights following him as he leaded the way out of Rivkah.

Before long, they were back in the forest and laughing at each others jokes, having long passed by the cheering crowd that were congratulating Prince Arthur on his victory. As usual, the knights huddled in a group to talk to each other while Merlin and Arthur rode slightly in front.

After a few minutes of riding in silence, Arthur turned to look at Merlin, who was trying to persuade Aithusa to do something. Sighing, he looked at the pair, "What is it, Merlin?"

"It's Aithusa." Merlin answered as he tried to make a shooing motion to her, "She needs to exercise her wings, but she's not listening to me."

"Well, the last time she left you, you managed to get yourself mind-controlled to some megalomaniac king." Arthur deadpanned, "Perhaps she doesn't want to leave you again."

Aithusa whimpered as she sat on the horse's head, resting her chin on Merlin's arm.

"She can't spend a week riding back to Camelot." Merlin sighed, "She's a dragon. Dragons don't ride horses."

Arthur gave him an odd look, "Maybe you should throw her up into the air? See if that works?"

Merlin scowled at him, "I'm not throwing a baby into the air, Arthur."

"Who's throwing a baby into the air?" Gwaine asked, munching on an apple, "I'd be happy to try and catch them."

"No one's catching a baby because no one's throwing one." Merlin scolded, "Arthur's just being an idiot, that's all."

"Isn't he always?" Gwaine muttered, taking one last bite of his apple and chucking the core into the grass, "So, this baby-throwing thing... is that like a new way to christen someone, or...?"

"No, it's just-" Merlin sighed in exasperation, "I'm trying to force Aithusa into getting some exercise, but she won't take off."

"Maybe you've been spoiling her." Percival shrugged, "Maybe you've fed her to much."

"After a week in the cells?" Leon countered, "I don't think she can be full after that."

"Perhaps she didn't like spending the night apart from you." Lancelot suggested, "She whined and scratched at my door half the night. I think she's just missing you, Merlin."

"She has just spent a week apart from you, after all." Elyan joined in.

"That's probably it." Arthur nodded, "Just give her a few hours to come round, Merlin."

Merlin sighed, but didn't say anything to object. Instead, he played with Aithusa a little, conjuring butterflies that he'd watch Aithusa paw at. Arthur watched every once in a while, staring at the small, dreamy smile that spread across Merlin's face whenever Aithusa begged for another butterfly. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Gwaine snickering behind him.

"What?" Arthur snapped, turning back to look at Gwaine.

"You are besotted." He said.

Arthur scoffed at him, "I am not." He said while returning to stare at Merlin accidentally sneezing as a butterfly landed on his nose.

Gwaine just looked at him, shaking his head, then nudging Percival and the others to gain their attention.

"Hey, Merlin?" Lancelot spoke up, "It been a while. Aithusa might be ready to fly now."

"Oh, sure." Merlin snapped out of his thoughts and wiped away the butterflies with a wave of his hand. "Aithusa, are you ready?"

There was a brief moment where disappointment flashed across her face, but a second later, she was bounding in excitement, much to the horse's annoyance.

"Ready?" Merlin grinned as Aithusa leapt onto his outstretched arm, "Go!"

Merlin lifted his arm up and Aithusa took of, stretching and flapping her wings. The knights watched on in amazement, Arthur shielding his eyes from the sun.

"She'll be back soon." He heard Merlin answer, "I don't think she's to familiar with the lands this far away from Camelot, so I won't let her go just yet. She still needs some exercise though."

Arthur smiled as he watched the baby dragon fly around for a little bit, diving into the trees.

"What's your other dragon like?" Arthur found himself asking, "Does he paw the air whenever you conjure butterflies?"

Merlin laughed at the image, but shook his head, "No, he's a little more... mysterious?"

"That sounded like a question." Arthur tilted his head, not following where Merlin was going.

"You'll see what I mean when you meet him." Merlin told him, "Kilgharrah... he likes to talk in riddles a lot."

"Sounds frustrating." Arthur said.

"It is." Merlin nodded, "But he and Gaius have known about my magic since day one. I wouldn't have been able to do what I've done without their help, no matter how... vague it might be."

Arthur was about to ask another question when a call sounded in the direction of the woods. Arthur felt himself tensing, but relaxed when he saw Merlin stretch out his arm.

"Is it Aithusa?" Arthur asked. Merlin only nodded as the white dragon came back into view, small claws digging into Merlin's arm as he landed. Arthur saw Merlin wince slightly as he stroke Aithusa's head.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Arthur asked, watching Aithusa's claws dig slightly into Merlin's flesh.

"A little, but they only leave scratches." Merlin shrugged as Aithusa hopped back onto the horse's head.

Arthur frowned slightly, rubbing the neckerchief that was now wrapped around his arm. Arthur had noticed it when he woke up, and had realised that Merlin must have tied it onto his arm during the night.

He shook it off though, instead choosing to immerse himself in the laughter of his knights, who were joking with one another, and the kindness of his servant, who was letting a baby dragon use his own arm as a perch. Arthur smiled as he thought about what Camelot was going to be with both Merlin and Arthur ruling over it, with the knights that were raised with honour and the dragons that were raised with kindness. All these grand images came to Arthur on that journey home from Rivkah, and Arthur could hardly wait.

"Hey Aithusa." Merlin greeted, rubbing Aithusa's snout with his finger, "Did you have a nice flight?"

Merlin then paused as a deep rumbling sound came out of Aithusa's mouth, making all six of them look at Aithusa strangely. 

Merlin blinked a few times, "Alright." He spoke, "Who taught Aithusa how to burp?"

Silence. Then Gwaine spoke:

"Percival."


End file.
